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GUSTAVE DORE. 



<Affemuf&' GiLifion. 



THE 



DORfi 

BIBLE GALLERY 



CONTAINING 



ONE HUNDRED SUPERB ILLUSTRATIONS 



AND 



A PAGE OF EXPLANATORY LETTER-PRESS FACING EACH 



3 ' 



ILLUSTRATED BY 



GUSTAVE DORE 




PHILADELPHIA 

HENRY ALTEMUS 

507, 509, 511 and 513 Cherry Street 







P* „o 



■7^ 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1890, 

By HENRY ALTEMUS, 

in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C. 



PREFACE. 



This volume, as its title indicates, is a collection of engravings illustrative of the Bible — 
the designs being all from the pencil of the greatest of modern delineators, Gustave Dore. The 
original work, from which this collection has been made, met with an immediate and warm recog- 
nition and acceptance among those whose means admitted of its purchase, and its popularity has 
in no wise diminished since its first publication, but has even extended to those who could only 
enjoy it casually or in fragmentary parts. That work, however, in its entirety, was far too costly 
for the larger and ever-widening circle of M. Dore's admirers, and to meet the felt and often- 
expressed want of this class, and to provide a volume of choice and valuable designs upon 
sacred subjects for art-loving Biblical students generally, this work was projected and has been 
carried forward. The aim has been to introduce subjects of general interest — that is, those 
relating to the most prominent events and personages of Scripture — those most familiar to all 
readers ; the plates being chosen with special reference to the known taste of the American 
people. To each cut is prefixed a page of letter-press, in narrative form, and containing 
generally a brief analysis of the design. Aside from the labors of the editor and publishers, the 
work, while in progress, was under the painstaking and careful scrutiny* of artists and scholars 
not directly interested in the undertaking, but still having a generous solicitude for its success. 
It is hoped, therefore, that its general plan and execution will render it acceptable both to 
the appreciative and friendly patrons of the great artist, and to those who would wish to 
possess such a work solely as a choice collection of illustrations upon sacred themes. 



GUSTAVE DORR 



The subject of this sketch is, perhaps, the most original and variously gifted designer 
the world has ever known. At an age when most men have scarcely .passed their novitiate in 
art, and are still under the direction and discipline of their masters and the schools, he had won 
3. brilliant reputation, and readers and scholars everywhere were gazing on his work with ever- 
increasing wonder and delight at his fine fancy and multifarious gifts. He has raised illustrative 
art to a dignity and importance before unknown, and has developed capacities for the pencil 
before unsuspected. He has laid all subjects tribute to his genius, explored and embellished 
fields hitherto lying waste, and opened new and shining paths and vistas where none before had 
trod. To the works of the great he has added the lustre of his genius, bringing their beauties 
into clearer view and warming them to fuller life. 

His delineations of character, in the different phases of life, from the horrible to the 
grotesque, the grand to the comic, attest the versatility of his powers ; and, whatever faults may 
be found by critics, the public will heartily render their quota of admiration to his magic touch, 
his rich and facile rendering of almost every thought that stirs, or lies yet dormant, in the 
human heart. It is useless to attempt a sketch of his various beauties ; those who would know 
them best must seek them in the treasure-house that his genius is constantly augmenting 
with fresh gems of wealth. To one, however, of his most prominent traits we will refer — 
his wonderful rendering of the powers of Nature. 

His early wanderings in the wild and romantic passes of the Vosges doubtless developed 
this inherent tendency of his mind. There he wandered, and there, mayhap, imbibed that deep 
delight of wood and [valley, mountain-pass and rich ravine, whose variety of form and detail 
seems endless to the enchanted eye. He has caught the very spell of the wilderness ; she has 
laid her hand upon him and he has gone forth with her blessing. So bold and truthful and 
minute are his countless representations of forest scenery ; so delicate the tracery of branch 
and stem ; so patriarchal the giant boles of his woodland monarch, that the gazer is at once 
satisfied and entranced. His vistas lie slumbering with repose either in shadowy glade or 
fell ravine, either with glint of lake or the glad, long course of some rejoicing stream : and 
above all, supreme in a beauty all its own, he spreads a canopy of peerless sky, or a wilder- 
ness, perhaps, of angry storm, or peaceful stretches of soft, fleecy cloud, or heavens serene and 

fair — another kingdom to his teeming art after the earth has rendered all her gifts, 
(vi) 



Paul Gustave Dor6 was born in the city of Strasburg, January 10, 1833. Of his boyhood 
we have no very particular account. At eleven years of age, however, he essayed his first 
artistic creations — a set of lithographs, published in his native city. The following year found 
him in Paris, entered as a student at the Charlemagne Lyceum. His first actual work began in 
1848, when his fine series of sketches, the " Labors of Hercules," was given to the public, 
through the medium of an illustrated journal with which he was for a long time connected as 
designer. In 1856 were published the illustrations for Balzac's " Contes Drolatiques" and those 
for "The Wandering Jew" — the first humorous and grotesque in the highest degree — indeed, 
showing a perfect abandonment to fancy ; the other weird and supernatural, with fierce battles, 
shipwrecks, turbulent mobs, and nature in her most forbidding and terrible aspects. Every in- 
cident or suggestion that could possibly make the story more effective or add to the horror of 
the scenes was seized upon and portrayed with wonderful power. These at once gave the 
young designer a great reputation, which was still more enhanced by his subsequent works. 

With all his love for nature and his power for interpreting her in her varying moods, Dore 
was a dreamer, and many of his finest achievements were in the realm of the imagination. But 
he was at home in the actual world also, as witness his designs for "Atala," " London — a 
Pilgrimage " and many of the scenes of " Don Quixote." 

When account is taken of the variety of his designs and the fact considered that in almost 
every task he attempted none had ventured before him, the amount of work he accomplished is 
fairly incredible. To enumerate the immense tasks he undertook — some single volumes alone 
containing hundreds of illustrations — will give some faint idea of his industry. Besides those 
already mentioned are Montaigne, Dante, the Bible, Milton, Rabelais, Tennyson's " Idyls of the 
King," "The Ancient Mariner," Shakespeare, " Legende de Croquemitaine," "La Fontaine's 
Fables," and others still. 

Take one of these works — the Dante, La Fontaine, or " Don Quixote " — and glance at the 
pictures. The mere hand labor involved in their production is surprising ; but when the quality 
of the work is properly estimated, what he accomplished seems prodigious. No particular 
mention need be made of him as a painter or a sculptor, for his reputation rests solely upon his 
work as an illustrator. 

Dore's nature was exhuberent and buoyant, and he was youthful in appearance. He had a 
passion for music, and possessed rare skill as a violinist, and it is assumed that, had he failed to 
succeed with his pencil, he could have won a brilliant reputation as a musician. 

He was a bachelor, and lived a quiet, retired life with his mother — married, as he expressed 

it, to her and his art. His death occurred on January 23, 188,3. 

(vii) 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, 



GlISTAVE DORE, . . e e . 

Creation of Eve, . . 

The Expulsion from the Garden, 

The Murder of Abel, „ 

The Deluge, 8 

Noah Cursing Ham, .... 

The Tower of Babel, .... 

Abraham Entertains Three Strangers, 

The Destruction of Sodom, 

The Expulsion of Hagar, 

Hagar in the Wilderness, 

Trial of the Faith of Abraham, 

The Burial of Sarah, .... 

Eliezer and Rebekah, .... 

Isaac Blessing Jacob, .... 

Jacob Tending the Flocks of Laban, . 

Joseph Sold into Egypt, 

Joseph Interpreting Pharaoh's Dream, 

Joseph Making Himself Known to His Brethren. 

Moses in the Bulrushes, 

The War Against Gibeon, 

Sisera Slain by Jael, .... 

Deborah's Song of Triumph, 

Jephthah Met by His Daughter, 
( viii ") 



Frontispiece 
I 

2 

3 
4 

5 
6 

7 
8 

9 
io 
ii 

12 

13 
14 
15 
16 

17 
18 

19 
20 
21 

22 
23 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



IX 



Jephthah's Daughter and Her Companions, 

Samson Slaying the Lion, 

Samson and Delilah, 

Death of Samson, 

Naomi and Her Daughters-in-Law, 

Ruth and Boaz, . 

The Return of the Ark, 

Saul and David, . 

David Spares Saul, 

Death of Saul, 

The Death of Absalom, 

David Mourning over Absalom, 

Solomon, .... 

The Judgment of Solomon, 

The Cedars Destined for the Temple, 

The Prophet Slain by a Lion, 

Elijah Destroying the Messengers of Ahaziah, 

Elijah's Ascent in a Chariot of Fire, 

The Death of Jezebel, . 

Esther Confounding Haman, 

Isaiah, 

The Destruction of Sennacherib's Host, 

Baruch, 

Ezekiel Prophesying, 

The Vision of Ezekiel, . 

Daniel, 

The Fiery Furnace, 

Belshazzar's Feast, 

Daniel in the Lions' Den, 

The Prophet Amos, 

Jonah Calling Nineveh to Repentance, 



24 

25 

26 

27 

28 

29 

30 

3i 

32 

33 

34 

35 

36 

37 

38 

39 

40 

4i 

42 

43 

44 

45 

46 

47 
48 

49 
50 
51 

52 
53 
54 



X 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Daniel Confounding the Priests of Bel, 

Heliodorus Punished in the Temple, 

The Nativity, .... 

The Star in the East, . 

The Flight into Egypt, . 

The Massacre of the Innocents, 

Jesus Questioning the Doctors, 

Jesus Healing the Sick, 

Sermon on the Mount, 

Christ Stilling the Tempest, 

The Dumb Man Possessed, 

Christ in the Synagogue, 

The Disciples Plucking Corn on the Sabbath 

Jesus Walking on the Water, . 

Christ's Entry into Jerusalem, 

Jesus and the Tribute Money, . 

The Widow's Mite, 

Raising the Daughter of Jairus, 

The Good Samaritan, 

Arrival of the Samaritan at the Inn, 

The Prodigal Son, 

Lazarus and the Rich Man, 

The Pharisee and the Publican, 

Jesus and the Woman of Samaria, 

Jesus, and the Woman Taken in Adultery, 

The Resurrection of Lazarus, 

Mary Magdalene, 

The Last Supper, 

The Agony in the Garden, 

Prayer of Jesus in the Garden of Olives, 

The Betrayal, .... 



55 
56 
57 
58 

5*9 
60 
61 
62 

63 
64 

65 
66 
67 
68 
69 
70 

7i 

72 

73 

74 
75 
76 

77 
78 

79 
80 
81 
82 
83 
84 
85 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



XI 



Christ Fainting Under the Cross, 

The Flagellation, 

The Crucifixion, . 

The Close of the Crucifixion, 

The Burial of Jesus, 

The Angel at the Sepulchre, 

The Journey to Emmaus, 

The Ascension, 

Martyrdom of St. Stephen, 

Saul's Conversion, 

Deliverance of St. Peter, 

Paul at Ephesus, 

Paul Menaced by the Jews, 

Paul's Shipwreck, 

Death on the Pale Horse, 





86 




• 87 




88 




89 




90 




91 




92 




• 93 




94 




■ 95 




, 96 


. 


97 


« 


98 


e « 


99 


• • 


TOO 



CREATION OF EVE. 



See Genesis ii. 




HE Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept ; and he took 
one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and. the rib which the Lord 
God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And 
Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh : She shall be called Woman, 
because she was taken out of man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, 
and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." 

In the scene in Paradise here depicted, the story of Eve's creation is told with entire 
appropriateness. The artist shows fine poetic sensibility and the utmost delicacy of thought, 
and brings us face to face with all the freshness, simplicity and glowing beauty of the Garden 
just finished by the hand of God. Amid the varied and luxuriant foliage are three luminous 
figures — beautifully conceived, and executed with delicate white touches upon a pale back- 
ground. The figure of Adam, though in profound repose, still palpitates with life. Eve, coy 
and debonair, gazes upon him with wonder, while in the dazzling light beyond stands a 
majestic form, faintly outlined — a noble conception of him in whose image man was created. 

i 



THE EXPULSION FROM THE GARDEN. 



See Genesis iii. 




JHE happiness of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden did not long continue. The 
Serpent appeared and tempted Eve, by offering her the forbidden fruit, and she in 
turn beguiled Adam. When they had thus broken the commandment of God, their 
" eyes were opened," and they no longer appeared to each other innocent as before ; and when 
they heard the voice of God in the garden, their consciences smote them and in fear they 
sought to hide themselves from his face. But God summoned them before him, pronounced 
judgment upon their transgression, and banished them from the garden. The expulsion is thus 
described by Milton in " Paradise Lost : " 

" They, looking back, all the eastern side beheld 
Of Paradise, so late their happy seat, 
Waved over by that flaming brand ; the gate 
With dreadful faces thronged, and fiery arms : 
Some natural tears they dropp'd, but wiped them soon: 
The world was all before them, where to choose 
Their place of rest, and Providence their guide : 
They, hand in hand, with wandering steps and slow, 
Through Eden took their solitary way." 

In the picture Adam and Eve are fleeing from the threatening figure that guards the way 
of " the tree of life." Adam seems stunned with amazement and fear at the new scene which 
opens before him, while Eve clings to him, with head bowed in sorrow and remorse. Un- 
sightly shrubs and broken rocks cumber the ground around them ; thick brambles stretch 
across their hard, dry path ; and from his cragged lair a crouching wild beast sends forth a 
threatening growl. The beauty and luxuriance of the foliage that bounds the garden are 
strikingly contrasted with the rugged and sterile scene which lies beyond. 

2 



THE MURDER OF ABEL. 



See Genesis iv. 




[[FTER Adam and Eve had been driven from the garden of Eden, their children Cain 
and Abel were born. The record of their lives is brief. We are told that Cain 
became a tiller of the soil and Abel a keeper of sheep, and then follows the account 
of the awful tragedy with which their names will be forever linked — one as the type of gen- 
tleness and obedience, the other as the embodiment of envy, rebellion and revenge. We 
read thus : 

" And in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an 
offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat 
thereof: and the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering. But unto Cain, and to his 
offering, he had not respect : and Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the 
Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth ? And why is thy countenance fallen ? If thou do 
well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door; And unto 
thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. And Cain talked with Abel his 
brother ; and it came to pass when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his 
brother, and slew him. 

"And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: 
Am I my brother's keeper ? And he said, What hast thou done ? The voice of thy brother's 
blood crieth to me from the ground. And now thou art cursed from the earth, which hath 
opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand. When thou tillest the ground 
it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength : A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be 
in the earth. And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Be- 
hold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth, and from thy face shall .1 
be hid, and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth : and it shall come to pass that 
every one that findeth me shall slay me. And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever 
slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him seven fold. And the Lord set a mark upon 
Cain, lest any finding him, should kill him." 

3 



THE DELUGE. 



See Genesis vii. 




HAT a thrilling and terrifying scene is here placed before us — showing perhaps the 
last place of refuge from the rising waters of the Flood which, as the Bible records, 
overwhelmed the world, because of the wickedness of the people, and ingulfed and 
destroyed all living, all breathing things — the tender infant, the blooming youth, fathers, 
mothers, grandsires — all save the righteous family of Noah in. the Ark, and the beasts and 
birds and creeping things he was commanded by God to save by sevens and by pairs to 
again replenish the earth. The people had gone on in their wickedness, and as the torrents 
descended ceaselessly and the gathering waters began to swell around their homes, doubtless 
they withdrew slowly from the valleys and pleasant fields, regretfully gazing behind, and perhaps 
wondering how much would be spared of their habitations, of their crops of grain and their 
vineyards ; but the flood followed them on, rapidly driving them from slope to slope, and what 
terror and anguish must have seized upon them as, in its swift pursuit, numbers of them began 
to be swept away or swallowed up, and they came to see that the hills were surely sinking 
under their feet. How they must have, watched with straining eyes from lofty peaks the waters 
raging beneath, or listened to their roar and fury, with hearts subdued by fear, in the darkness 
of the night. And when finally, looking higher and higher for safety, they are driven to the 
giddy crags of the mountains, who can picture their despair? What cries and groans and bitter 
wailings must have left their lip's! what piercing shrieks have rent the air, as fathers or mothers 
were torn from their little ones ! 

In the picture before us the artist has strikingly depicted the wildness and horror of the 
scene. We see the waters surging in hollow waves, till their foreboding blackness mingles 
with a sky heavy and dark and pitiless as they — the remorseless powers of nature unrestrained. 
In the foreground a single rock still meets the tempest's shock, and around it have gathered, 
or have been swept the few survivors of the perishing host. A tigress has gathered her 
young about her, and almost at her feet cluster the babes of the hapless pair who are perishing 
in the flood below, their last feeble strength being given to place their little ones beyond the 
reach of the breakers. The infant stretches out his hand imploringly towards its mother, but 
she has sunk unconscious upon the father's breast. 

4 



NOAH CURSING HAM. 




See Genesis ix. 

HE scene in which Noah is represented as cursing his second son is ably conceived, 
representing the pastoral simplicity of the time effectively — the prominent grouping, 
in the foreground, of the principal characters in the history, conforming itself to the 
spirit of the incident. Noah, with arm uplifted, hurls the dread malediction upon his son, 
while on either side, in attitudes of wonder, grief and acquiescent condemnation, Shem and 
Japheth, with their wives, look on. The flying family of Ham, his stricken partner, with back- 
ward look of pain regarding her lost companions, the wondering children and the shrinking 
form of the culprit, are an admirable culmination of the description of the tale. 

5 



THE TOWER OF BABEL. 



See Genesis xi. 




HERE has been much inquiry concerning the location of this remarkable tower. 

According to tradition, its site was the same as that of the great Temple of Belus, 

near Babylon, which Nebuchadnezzar found in ruins and restored. The present 

ruins are called Birs Nimrod (citadel of Nimrod). They bear inscriptions in the cuneiform 

character, among which the name of N?buchadnezzar frequently appears. Herodotus visited 

the spot about 450 B. C, and described the temple then existing as "a solid tower a stadium 

in depth and width, upon which another tower is raised, and another upon that, to the number 

of eight towers." Of the original structure upon this site we have no knowledge except that 

derived from the brief account in Genesis. No description of its form is given, and the spiral 

stairway presented in the engraving is simply a reproduction by the artist of the form given to 

it in older but purely fanciful pictures. We read as follows : . 

"And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass as 

they journeyed from the East, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt 

there. And they said one to another: Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. 

And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. ■ And they said : Go to, let us 

build us a city and a tower, whose top may" reach unto heaven, and let us make us a name, lest 

we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the Lord came down to see the 

city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the Lord said : Behold, the people 

is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do; and now nothing will be 

restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there 

confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the Lord 

scattered them abroad from thence, upon the face of all the earth ; and they left off to build the 

City. Therefore is the name of it called Babel, because the Lord did there confound the 

language of all the earth ; and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of 

all the earth." 

6 



ABRAHAM ENTERTAINS THREE STRANGERS. 



See Genesis xviii. 




HEN Abraham was commanded to leave his kindred in Ur of the Chaldees, and make 
for himself a new home in Canaan, it was with the assurance that this goodly land, 
rich in pastures and flowing with milk and honey, should be given him and become 
the inheritance of his children. This promise was renewed again and again ; and even when 
Abraham and Sarah had become old — when they had far exceeded the usual age allotted 
to man, and were yet childless — the promise was still held forth to Abraham that he should 
become the father of a great nation ; that his children, his children's children and their 
heirs forever, should possess Canaan ; and that the care and favor and blessing of God should 
be manifested towards them in a peculiar manner. Abraham believed that all these promises 
would be made good, for he walked in the favor of God, and thus far his life had been 
attended with many blessings. Honor and power had been bestowed upon him, he had 
acquired vast possessions, and was regarded as a mighty prince in the land to which he 



came a stranger. 



One day, sitting in the door of his tent during the heat of the day, he beheld three 
men standing near. They were messengers sent to Abraham, and bore tidings to make 
glad his heart. He went out before them and bowed himself to the earth, for thus were 
strangers welcomed in those days. And he said : " My lord, if now I have found favor in 
thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant : let a little water, I pray you, be 
-fetched, and wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree ; and I will fetch a morsel 
of bread, and comfort ye your hearts ; after that you shall pass on : for therefore are you 
come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. And Abraham hastened 
into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead 
it, and make cakes upon the hearth. And Abraham ran unto the herd and fetched a calf 
tender and good, and gave it unto a young man ; and he hastened to dress it. And he 
took butter and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them ; and he 
stood by them under the tree, and they did eat. And they said unto him, Where is Sarah 
thy wife ? And he said, Behold, in the tent. And he said, I will certainly return unto thee 
according to the time of life ; and lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son." 

Thus in this special manner was again announced God's purpose towards Abraham. The 
picture which represents the scene here described is quite simple in detail, reflecting, therefore, 
the spirit of the narrative. The figures of the three spiritual visitants are impressive and 
beautiful, and their features bear the impress of serenity and peace. 

7 



THE DESTRUCTION OF SODOM. 




See Genesis, xviii, xix. 

HE three strangers entertained by Abraham, when they had finished their repast* 
" rose up from thence and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to 
bring them on their way." He was then informed of God's purpose to utterly 
destroy the cities of the plain, because of their great wickedness. Abraham interceded, 
saying, " Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked ?" Then the promise was 
made to him that if fifty righteous people were found in the city it should be spared for 
their sakes. But still Abraham pleaded, and God said he would spare it if there were five 
less than fifty, and finally promised that for forty's sake, for thirty's, for twenty's — even for 
ten's sake — he would withhold destruction. 

In the evening two angels came to Sodom and found Lot sitting at the gateway. They 
were invited to accompany him home, and partake of refreshment, and tarry for the night. 
The purpose of their visit was to warn Lot of the impending destruction of the city, and 
they urged him to gather together as speedily as possible his family, and to warn such as 
were not under his roof to flee also. But his sons-in-law were unmindful of the warning, 
and early in the morning Lot, his wife, and their two daughters departed, urged on by* the 
messenger who charged them, " Escape for thy life, look not behind thee, neither stay thou 
in all the plain ; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed. 

" And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord. Behold now, thy servant hath found 
grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast showed unto me in 
saving my life ; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die. 
Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one. Oh, let me escape thither 
(is it not a little one ?) and my soul shall live. And he said unto him, See, I have accepted 
thee concerning this thing, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast 
spoken. Haste thee, escape thither, for I cannot do anything till thou be come thither. 
Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. 

" The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. Then the Lord 
rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven ; and 
he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that 
which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became 
a pillar of salt." 

The scene is here represented quite literally, and is invested with almost terrific gran- 
deur. The whole horizon is ablaze ; the walls of the doomed city appear fairly torn 
asunder by the furious sweep of the flames, while the stifling smoke rolls upward in tumul- 
tuous volumes, filling all the upper sky with blackness, and spreading gloom over the earth. 
Through this gathering darkness Lot and his daughters hasten, urged on by terror, and 
mindful of the injunction not to look backward. The artist has given Lot a most' anxious 
and appealing look, and has quite successfully indicated the hapless fate of his wife, who 
stands high above the fire-swept plain, her drapery clinging in hard folds to her motionless 
limbs — a rigid, unbreathing and almost transshaped figure. 



THE EXPULSION OF HAGAR. 



See Genesis xxi. 




HE incident of which the engraving before us is the illustration — the dismissal of 
Hagar and Ishmael from the tent of Abraham — is thus described in the twenty-first 
chapter of Genesis: 

"Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the 
son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had borne unto Abraham, mocking. Wherefore she 
said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman 
shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's 
sight because of his son. 

"And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and 
because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for 
in Isaac shall thy seed be called. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, 
because he is thy seed. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took bread, and a 
bottle of 'water, and gave it unto Hagar (putting it on her shoulder), and the child, and sent her 
away: and she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba." 

The story of Hagar and Ishmael appears always to have been a favorite subject for pictorial 
treatment, and the pencil of the artist has helped much to make the chief incidents relating to 
them familiar. M. Dore has again told the story in his own original and effective way, his 
portrayal of their expulsion being artistic in conception and execution, tender in sentiment and 
faithful to the spirit of the East. 

9 



HAGAR IN THE WILDERNESS. 




See Genesis xxi. 

HIS thrilling - scene is intended to illustrate the following verses: "And the water 
was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. And 
she went and sat her down over against him, a good way off, as it were a bow 
shot ; for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him. 
and lift up her voice and wept." M. Dore has given the spirit of this incident without 
adhering strictly to the literal details. The lamentation of the stricken mother is pathetic- 
ally portrayed ; the empty water-flask — now cast aside as a useless thing — and the out- 
stretched figure of the dying child are also, in themselves, eloquent commentaries on the 
utter extremity of the destitute Hagar, ere yet God had opened her eyes to see the 
vivifying well of water, wherewith to fill her bottle and restore the lad. 

10 



TRIAL OF THE FAITH OF ABRAHAM. 



See Genesis xxii. 




HIS engraving represents one of the most striking examples of faith recorded in 
sacred history. Isaac was the only son of Abraham and Sarah — the child of their 
old age. Around him clustered all the sweetest incidents of home; with him was 
associated the prophecy of future greatness for their descendants; for the promise had been 
made to Abraham that through Isaac he should become the father of many nations. But 
when the command came to Abraham to take this beloved son and offer him up as a burnt 
offering unto the Lord, great as was the sacrifice, he bowed in meek submission; unaccountable 
as must have seemed such a command, his faith in the promises of God was still unshaken. 
We see the aged patriarch toiling up the mountain, and before him Isaac, bearing the wood for 
the altar, the boy obedient unto his father, the father obedient unto God. In these verses from 
the Bible is the story related : 

"And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, 
Abraham. And he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son 
Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt 
offering upon one of the Mountains which I will tell thee of.^ 

"And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his 
young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, 
and went to the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up 
his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide you here 
with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And 
Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son ; and he took the 
fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto 
Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, 
Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering ? And Abraham said, 
My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them 
together. And they came to the place which God had told him of, and Abraham built an Altar 
there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the Altar upon the 
wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the 
Angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, 
Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto 
him : for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only 
son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, behind him a Ram, 
caught in a thicket by his horns : and Abraham went and took the Ram, and offered him up for 
a burnt offering, in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah- 
jireh, as it is said to this day, In the Mount of the Lord it shall be seen. 

"And the Angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and 
said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast 
not withheld thy son, thine only son, That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying, I will 
multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore, and 
thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the 
earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice." 

1 1 




II 



THE BURIAL OF SARAH. 



See Genesis xxiii. 




[HILE Abraham has come down to us as the noblest type of the patriarchal chief 
in all history, Sarah may be regarded as the type of conjugal love and obedience. 
The Bible speaks of her as lovely in person and affectionate in disposition. She 
was married to Abraham before his departure from Chaldea, and was with him through all his 
wanderings in Palestine. The grief manifested by Abraham at her death and his anxiety about 
her burial place show the depth of his affection for her. The sons of Heth had given him 
the choice of all their sepulchres ; but he chose only the " field of Machpelah, with the cave 
which was therein, and all the trees that were in the field " — and these he desired for a 
possession. In the illustration we see Abraham led tenderly away at the close of the burial 
rites, but still turning back with eager and sorrowful gaze towards the sepulchre. 

" And Sarah was a hundred and seven and twenty years old ; these were the years of the 
life of Sarah. And Sarah died in Kirjath-arba, the same is Hebron, in the land of Canaan : 
and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. 

" And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying, 
I am a stranger and a sojourner with you : give me a possession of a burying place with you 
that I may bury my dead out of my sight. And the children of Heth answered Abraham, 
saying unto him, Hear us, my Lord, thou art a mighty Prince amongst us: in the choice of 
our sepulchres bury thy dead : none of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, but that 
thou mayest bury thy dead. And Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of 
the land, even to the children of Heth. And he communed with them, saying, if it be 
your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and entreat for me to 
Ephron the son of Zohar: That he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, 
which is in the end of his field : for as much money as it is worth he shall give it me, 
for a possession of a burying place amongst you. And Ephron dwelt amongst the children 
of Heth. And Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of 
Heth, even of all that went in at the gates of his city, saying, Nay, my lord, hear me : 
the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give it thee, in the presence of the 
sons of my people give I it thee : bury thy dead. And Abraham bowed down himself 
before the people of the land. And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people 
of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me ; I will give thee money 
for the field ; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there. And Ephron answered Abra- 
ham,'saying unto him, My Lord, hearken unto me; the land is worth four hundred shekels of 
silver; what is that betwixt me and thee? Bury therefore thy dead. And Abraham hear- 



kened unto Ephron, and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver which he had named in the 

audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant. 
************ 

"And after this Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, 

before Mamre : the same is Hebron, in the land of Canaan. And the field, and the cave that 

is therein, were made sure unto Abraham, for a possession of a burying place, by the sons of 

Heth." 

I 2 



ELIEZER AND REBEKAH. 




See Genesis xxiv. 

HIS picture, which relates to the touching and familiar story of Isaac and Rebekah, 
shows the first meeting between Abraham's servant and the beautiful maiden who 
afterwards became Isaac's wife and the mother of Israel. Sarah had been buried in 
the cave at Machpelah, and Abraham, now stricken with age, wished to provide a wife for Isaac; 
so Eliezer, his chief steward, in whom he trusted, and who had charge of all his goods, was 
called : and Abraham caused Eliezer to swear that he would not choose from among the 
Canaanites a wife for Isaac, but bade him journey to Mesopotomia, whence Abraham was called, 
and "there seek for a bride among the daughters of his kindred. 

"And the servant took ten camels, of the camels of his master, and departed (for. all the 
goods of his master were in his hand) and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city 
of Nahor. And he made his camels to kneel down without the city, by a well of water, at the 
time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water. And he said, O Lord, 
God of my master Abraham, I pray thee send me good speed this day, and shew kindness 
unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of 
the men of the City come out to draw water: And let it come to pass that the damsel to whom 
I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink, and she shall say, Drink, and 
I will give thy camels drink also, let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant 
Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master." 

And it happened that ere yet his prayer was ended, Rebekah, the grand-daughter of 
Abraham's brother, "a damsel fair to look upon," came out of the city to draw water at the 
well. When the stranger asked for water from her pitcher, she answered him kindly, saying 
"Drink, my lord, and I will draw water for thy camels also," and she drew for all .the camels. 
Then Eliezer, after he had given her ornaments of gold, asked whose daughter she was, and 
whether he could find lodging for the night in her father's house ; and Rebekah hastened within 
the gates and told all that had happened, and her brother Laban went out and sought the 
stranger and conducted him to the house of Bethuel, his father, where he was welcomed and 
provided for. But before partaking of the food that had been prepared for him, Eliezer made 
known his errand, related all that had transpired at the well, and asked that Rebekah might be 
given to Isaac, who was rich in camels and gold, and could provide for her abundantly. Then 
they replied: "Behold, Rebekah is before thee; take her and go, and let her be thy master's 
son's wife, as the Lord hath spoken." * * * * "And they called Rebekah, and said 
unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go." 

13 



ISAAC BLESSING JACOB. 




See Genesis xxviii. 

VERY beautiful patriarchal scene is conveyed to us by this picture. The venerable 
Isaac, seated on one side of his couch, blesses his beloved Jacob. The primitive 
household, yet overflowing with the rude wealth of a desert chief, the lovely view of 
the reposing camels through the open door, the half-averted form of Rebekah, as if too touched 
at thought of the coming departure to steadily endure it, all form an idyl of pastoral life 
powerfully rendered by a master's touch. 

14 



JACOB TENDING THE FLOCKS OF LABAN. 




See Genesis xxviii, xxix. 

HIS engraving is a representation of quiet pastoral life in the time of the patriarchs. 
Jacob is seen tending the flocks of Laban, which are gathered near a well, from 
which Rachel is returning with her pitcher. Jacob was the younger son of Isaac 
and Rebekah, and became, like Abraham and Isaac, a herdsman, Esau had grieved his parents 
by taking two wives from among the Canaanites, and Rebekah wished Jacob to marry from 
among his own people, as his father had done. Hence, when Esau threatened to slay Jacob, 
who had not only selfishly obtained his birthright, but had also defrauded him of his father's 
blessing, Rebekah urged him to flee for safety to her brother Laban. " And Isaac called 
Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of 
the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padan-aram, to the house of Bethuel, thy mother's 
father, and take thee a wife from thence, of the daughters of Laban, thy mother's brother." 
************ 

" Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the East. 
And he looked, and behold, a well in the field, and lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying 
by it ; for out of that well they watered the flocks : and a great stone was upon the well's 
mouth. And thither were all the flocks gathered, and they rolled the stone from the well's 
mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well's mouth in his place. 
And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye ? and they said, Of Haran are we. And 
he said unto them, Know ye Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We know him. And 
he said unto them, Is he well ? and they said, He is well : and behold, Rachel his daughter 
cometh with the sheep. And he said, Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the cattle 
should be gathered together : water ye the sheep, and go and feed them. And they said, We 
cannot until all the flocks be gathered together, and till they roll the stone from the well's 
mouth : then we water the sheep. 

" And while he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep : for she kept 
them. And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother's 
brother, and the sheep of Laban, his mother's brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the 
stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban, his mother's brother. And Jacob 
kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept. And Jacob told Rachel that he was her 
father's brother, and .that he was Rebekah's son ; and she ran, and told her father. And it 
came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob, his sister's son, that he ran to meet 
him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house : and he told Laban 
all these things. And Laban said to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh: and he 
abode with him the space of a month. 

" And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve 
me for nought ? tell me, what shall thy wages be ? And Laban had two daughters : the name 
of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah was tender-eyed, but 
Rachel was beautiful and well favored. And Jacob loved Rachel, and said, I will serve thee 
seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter. And Laban said, It is better that I give her to 
thee than that I should give her to another man : abide with me. And Jacob served seven 
years for Rachel: and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her." 

'5 



JOSEPH SOLD INTO EGYPT. 




Genesis xxxvii. 5-28. 

ND Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren, and they hated him yet the 
more. And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed. 
For behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf arose, and also 
stood upright ; and behold your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. 
And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us, or shalt thou indeed have 
dominion over us? and they hated him yet the more, for his dreams and for his words. 

"And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have 
dreamed a dream more; and behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance 
to me. And he told it to his father, and to his brethren ; and his father rebuked him, and said 
unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I, and thy mother, and thy 
brethren, indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee, to the earth? And his brethren envied 
him ; but his father observed the saying. 

"And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem. And Israel said unto 
Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send thee unto them; 
and he said unto him, Here am 1. And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well 
with thy brethren, and well with the flocks, and bring me word again : so he sent him out of the 
vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 

"And a certain man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field, and the man 
asked him, saying, What seekest thou? And he said, I seek my brethren : tell me, I pray thee, 
where they feed their flocks. And the man said, They are departed hence ; for I heard them 
say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. 
And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against 
him, to slay him. And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now, 
therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath 
devoured him ; and we shall see what will become of his dreams. And Reuben heard it, and 
he delivered him out of their hands, and said : Let us not kill him. And Reuben said unto 
them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon 
him ; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again. 

"And it came to pass when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out 
of his coat, his coat of many colors that was on him. And they took him and cast him into a 
pit ; and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. And they sat down to eat bread ; and 
they lifted up their eyes and looked, and behold, a company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead, 
with their camels, bearing spicery, and balm, and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. And 
Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? 
Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him ; for he is our 
brother, and our flesh, and his brethren were content. Then there passed by Midianites, 
merchant men, and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the 
Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver; and they brought Joseph into Egypt." 

16 




■■I 



Us 










JOSEPH INTERPRETING PHARAOHS DREAM. 



See Genesis xli. 




HARAOH dreamed: and behold, he stood by the river. And behold there came up 
out of the river seven well-favored kine, and fat-fleshed, and they fed in a meadow. 
And behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, ill-favored and 
lean-fleshed, and stood by the other kine, upon the brink of the river. And the ill-favored 
and lean-fleshed kine did eat up the seven well-favored and fat kine : so Pharaoh awoke. And 
he slept and dreamed the second time ; and behold, seven ears of corn came upon one stalk, 
rank and good. And behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind, sprang up after 
them. And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears : and Pharaoh awoke, 
and behold, it was a dream. And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled, 
and he sent and called for all the Magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and 
Pharaoh told them his dreams : but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh." 

Then the chief butler of Pharaoh make known unto him the skill of Joseph in the 
interpretation of dreams, and Joseph was brought out of the prison into which he had been 
cast by Potiphar, his master, and Pharaoh related unto him the dream which had perplexed him. 

"And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one; God hath shewed Pharaoh 
what he is about to do. The seven good kine are seven years, and the seven good ears are 
seven years : the dream is one. And the seven thin and ill-favored kine that came up after 
them are seven years; and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years 
of famine. This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh:, what God is about to do, he 
sheweth unto Pharaoh. Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land 
of Egypt. And there shall arise after them seven years of famine, and all the plenty shall be 
forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine shall consume the land. And the plenty shall 
not be known in the land, by reason of that famine following, for it shall be very grievous. And 
for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice, it is because the thing is established by 
God: and God will shortly bring it to pass. Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet 
and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers 
over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. 
And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand 
of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. And that food shall be for store to the land, 
against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land perish not 
through the famine. 

"And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. And 
Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the spirit of 
God is ? And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is 
none so discreet and wise as thou art : Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy 
word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. And Pharaoh 
said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh took off his 
ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and 
put a gold chain about his neck. And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had : 
And they cried before him, Bow the knee : and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt." 

• 17 




i7 



JOSEPH MAKING HIMSELF KNOWN TO HIS BRETHREN. 



Genesis xlv. 1-24. 




I HEN Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him : and he cried, 
Cause every man to go out from me; and there stood no man with him, while Joseph 
made himself known unto his brethren. And he wept aloud ; and the Egyptians, 
and the house of Pharaoh heard. And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph ; doth my 
father yet live ? And his brethren could not answer him, for they were troubled at his presence. 
And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near unto me, I pray you, and they came near; and 
he said, I am Joseph, your brother, whom, ye sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, 
nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither; for God did send me before you to preserve 
life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land, and yet there are five years' in the 
which there shall neither be earing nor harvest. And God sent me before you, to preserve you 
a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you 
that sent me hither, but God ; and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his 
house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. Haste you, and go up to my father, and 
say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph ; God hath made me lord of all Egypt ; come down 
unto me, tarry not. And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto 
me, thou and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that 
thou hast. And there will I nourish thee (for yet there are five years of famine), lest thou and 
thy household, and a,ll that thou hast, come to poverty. And behold, your eyes see, and the 
eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you. And you shall tell 
my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that you have seen, and ye shall haste, and 
bring down my father hither. And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept ; and 
Benjamin wept upon his neck. Moreover, he kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them ; 
and after that his brethren talked with him. 

" And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying, Joseph's brethren are come ; 
and it pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Say unto thy 
brethren, This do ye, lade your beasts and go, get you unto the land of Canaan. And take 
your father, and your households, and come unto me ; and I will give you the good of the land 
of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land. Now thou art commanded, this do ye : Take 
your wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your 
father, and come. Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours. 
And the children of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them wagons, according to the command- 
ment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way. To all of them he gave each man 
changes of raiment; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes 
of raiment. And to his father he sent after this manner: ten asses laden with the good things 
of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corn, and bread and meat for his father by the way. So 
he sent his brethren away, and they departed; and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out 
by the way." 



MOSES IN THE BULRUSHES. 



See Exodus ii. 




HxA-RAOH, king of Egypt — a new monarch "which knew not Joseph" — fearful of the 
increase of the children of Israel, had given orders that all the male children of the 
Hebrews should be slain as soon as they were born. This blood-thirsty command, 
however, was evaded, "and the people multiplied and waxed very mighty." At length comes 
the birth of Moses, the account of which is as follows: "And there went a man of the house 
of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived, and bare a son : and 
when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And when she could 
no longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime, and 
with pitch, and put the child therein, and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. And 
his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him. And the daughter of Pharaoh 
came down to wash herself at the river, and her maidens walked along by the river's side : 
and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she 
had opened it, she saw the child: and behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on 
him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children. Then said his sister to Pharaoh's 
daughter, Shall I go, and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew-women, that she may nurse 
the child for thee? And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go: And the maid went and 
called the child's mother. And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and 
nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child and nursed it." 
The moment selected by the artist is when the ark of bulrushes is being drawn to shore by 
one of the attendants of the Egyptian princess, who stands under the downy plumes of her 
two fan-bearers giving directions in regard to the child, whose beauty has won her heart. 
The flowing stream, the waving reeds, the regal costume and state of the Princess and her 
retinue, are lovely surroundings of the slumbering child, before whom lies so great and 
wondrous a destiny. 

19 




19 



THE WAR AGAINST GIBEON. 




See Joshua x. 

HEN it was learned that the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, the five 
kings of the Amorites gathered their people together and declared war against 
them. The Gibeonites at once called upon Joshua to come up quickly and save 
them. " So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the 
mighty men of valor. And the Lord said unto Joshua, Fear them not ; for I have delivered 
them into thine hand ; there shall not a man of them stand before thee. Joshua therefore came 
unto them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal all night. And the Lord discomfited them before 
Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that 
goeth up to Bethhoron, and smote them to Azekah and unto Makkedah. And it came to pass 
as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron, that the Lord cast 
down great stones from heaven upon them, unto Azekah, and they died ; they were more 
which died with hailstones, than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword. Then 
spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the 
children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and thou 
Moon in the valley of Ajalon. And the Sun stood still, and the Moon stayed, until the people 
had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So 
the Sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down, about a whole day. 
And there was no day like that, before it, or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice 
of a man : for the Lord fought for Israel." 

This striking proof of God's condescending favor and consideration — this astonishing 
manifestation of his direct interposition in behalf of his people — furnishes the artist with 
one of the grandest themes in the whole compass of Biblical lore — a subject, too, quite in 
consonance with his peculiar genius. The wide field of battle is rough with the swarming 
multitudes of the foe, whose masses are relieved against the sun-illuminated mountains. To 
the right the host of Israel sweeps on to swell the destruction from the Lord, which pours 
down in tempest upon the terrified and flying troops of the confederated kings. In the 
foreground are seen the hurrying legions of the Hebrew horse, while a little towards the left 
Joshua, on a commanding eminence, with arm uplifted, is commanding with undaunted faith the 
Sun to stand still in the heavens and the Moon to pause in the valley of Ajalon. 

20 




20 



SISERA SLAIN BY JAEL. 



See Judges iv. 






T was a gloomy period in the history of her people when Deborah became judge 
in Israel. The national spirit had become feeble and idolatry and wickedness had 
increased. The people chafed under the discipline and stern morality which the 
statutes of Moses enjoined, and many of them renounced their allegiance to God, neglected 
his service, and worshipped with those who served Baal and Ashtaroth. Then " the Lord 
sold them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor, the captain of 
whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gentiles. And the children of 
Israel cried unto the Lord ; for he had nine hundred chariots of iron ; and twenty years he 
mightily oppressed the children of Israel. And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, 
she judged Israel at that time. And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah, between 
Ramah and Bethel, in Mount Ephraim ; and the children of Israel came up to her for 
judgment." 

When the people prayed for deliverance from the bitter oppression of Jabin, Deborah 
called Barak, the leader of the armies of Israel, and directed him to proceed, with ten 
thousand men of the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun, toward Mount Tabor, where.it was 
promised that Sisera and his army should be delivered into his hand. "And Barak said 
unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go ; but if thou wilt not go with me, then I 
will not go. And she said, I will surely go with thee ; notwithstanding the journey that 
thou takest shall not be for thine honor : for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a 
woman." Sisera met Barak, with nine hundred chariots and all his armed men ; but they 
melted away before the victorious hosts of Israel, till all were slain. Sisera escaped from 
the field and took refuge in the tent of Jael, wife 6f Heber the Kenite. Jael covered him 
with a mantle, and when he had fallen asleep through weariness, she took a nail of the 
tent, crept softly to his side, and drove the nail through his temples into the ground. 
" So God subdued on that day Jabin, the king of Canaan, before the children of Israel." 

Here we see the story most vividly portrayed. Inside the tent, in a posture indicating 
the agony of his death, lies Sisera, clad in mail, pinned to the earth. Jael stands gazing 
upon him from the door, and she has drawn aside the tent cloth, so that Barak and his 
followers, who are seen approaching, may look in upon the fallen chieftain. The figure ot 
Jael is remarkably lithe and graceful, yet her countenance shows the strength of will which 
enabled her to perform so unwomanly a deed. There is no cruelty expressed in the 
features, but they seem equally devoid of any trace of pity or compunction. The broken 
lights in the evening sky produce a fine contrast to the subdued twilight of the interior. 



21 




21 



DEBORAH'S SONG OF TRIUMPH. 



See Judges v. 




HE Song of Deborah (though accredited in Holy Writ to both Deborah and Barak) 
is considered one of the most magnificent outpourings of patriotic poetry and fire 
that has ever been penned. Barak, incited by Deborah, had overcome the army of 
Sisera, and the leader had been slain by the hand of Jael, and this glorious outburst of 
triumphant song was in celebration of that victory, which resulted in the deliverance of Israel 
from the oppression of Jabin. In this fine engraving the regal figure, glowing countenance and 
intensity and vigor of movement, show her exalted mood ; and her power over the listening 
group is attested by their earnestness and deep attention. 

22 




22 



JEPHTHAH MET BY HIS DAUGHTER. 



See Judges xi. 




EPHTHAH, an unnatural son of Gilead, having been cast out and deprived of his 
inheritance by the other sons of his father, went to the land of Tob, lying east- 
ward towards the deserts, and there gathered about him a band of outlaws, or 
"vain men," and "was a mighty man of valor" — so that his fame went back to his native 
land. Accordingly when the Ammonites rose against Israel, the Elders of Gilead besought 
Jephthah to become their captain, which he consented to do on condition that if he were 
victorious over the Ammonites, he should remain their Head. "And the Elders of Gilead 
said unto Jephthah, The Lord be witness between us, if we do not so according to thy 
words. Then Jephthah went with the Elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and 
captain over them ; and Jephthah uttered all his words before the Lord in Mizpeh. * * * 
And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the 
children of Ammon into mine hands, Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the 
doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, shall 
surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering. So Jephthah passed over 
unto the children of Ammon to fiorht against them ; and the Lord delivered them into his 
hands. And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even twenty 
cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great slaughter. Thus the children 
of Ammon were subdued before the children of Israel. And Jephthah came to Mizpeh 
unto his house, and behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with 
dances ; and she was his only child ; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. And it 
came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter ! 
thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me : for I have 
opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back. And she said unto him, My 
father, if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the Lord, do to me according to that which hath 
proceeded out of thy mouth ; forasmuch as the Lord hath taken vengeance for thee of 
thine enemies, even of the children of Ammon." 

In the picture we see the lovely maiden tripping joyously forth with her companions to 
meet the victor chief, proud of his success, and little dreaming that by this touching act of 
filial pride and love she is to become the unhappy victim of her father's rash vow. 

23 



JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER AND HER COMPANIONS. 



See Judges xi. 




N the preceding sketch was shown the lofty and undaunted spirit with which the 
patriotic maiden received her father's sad greeting, and the ready and cheerful 
submission with which she accepted the sacrifice imposed upon her. It is a 
moment of national triumph and rejoicing, and she is mindful now only that the Lord had 
taken vengeance for her father upon the enemies of her people. But tenderer feelings 
find place in her heart, as the sorrowful truth that she is thus to be yielded up, in the 
pride and blossom of her youth, forces itself upon her ; but even then she pleads only that 
her sacrifice may be delayed. " And she said unto her father, Let this thing be done for 
me : let me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and 
bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. And he said, Go. And he sent her away for two 
months : and she went with her companions, and bewailed her virginity upon the mountains. 
And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned unto her father, who did 
with her according to his vow which he had vowed. And she knew no man. And it was a 
custom in Israel that the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughter of Jephthah 
the Gileadite four days in a year." . 

This tenderly sweet and mournful picture by M. Dore is in keeping with the spirit of 
the incident, as will also be found the following poem, one of the most chaste and beauti- 
ful of the "Hebrew Melodies," entitled by the author the "Song of Jephthah's Daughter;" 

Since our country, our God, O my sire ! 
Demand that thy daughter expire ; 
Since thy triumph was bought by thy vow, 
Strike the bosom that's bared for thee now. 

And the voice of my mourning is o'er, 
And the mountains behold me no more ; 
If the hand that I love lay me low, 
There cannot be pain in the blow ! 

And of this, O my father, be sure — 
That the blood of thy child is as pure 
As the blessing I beg ere it flow, 
And the last thought that soothes me below. 

Though the virgins of Salem lament, 
Be the judge and the hero unbent ! 
I have won the great battle for thee, 
And my father and country are free ! 

When this blood of thy giving hath gushed, 
When the voice that thou lovest is hushed, 
Let my memory still be thy pride, 
And forget not I smiled when I died. 

24 




14 



SAMSON SLAYING THE LION. 




See Judges xiii, xiv. 

HE story of Samson abounds in occurrences of the most remarkable nature. Of a 
character rough, daring and heroic — cast in a mold of iron rather than bronze — he 
rises into the hero, the avenger and the judge of his people, and from the earliest 
incident in his career deals in violence, passion and bloodshed, though directed, under 
Divine control, into channels of Justice, where actions, otherwise inexcusable, become legitimate 
and just. 

His birth was miraculously foretold to his mother by an angel, and it was directed that no 
razor should come on his head, for he was to be ever a Nazarite unto God, and should "begin 
to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines." 

Samson was yet young when he sought him a wife " in Timnath, of the daughters of the 
Philistines." It was evidently a thing distasteful to his parents, who would much rather have 
had him choose a helpmeet from among their own people ; but Samson was of a different mind, 
and said unto his father, "Get her for me, for she pleaseth me well." "Then went Samson 
down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and 
behold, a young lion roared against him. And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon 
him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand." In the 
engraving the strength and beauty of the young athlete are splendidly shown. The incident, 
moreover, was the occasion of that famous riddle that led to such sanguine and direful results — 
for the thing was "of the Lord." 

25 



^r 




SAMSON AND DELILAH. 



See Judges xiv, xv. 




AMSON, the Judge of Israel for twenty years, was the son of Manoah, "a certain man 
of Zorah, of the family of the Danites." He loved Delilah, "a woman in the valley 
of So.rek," who wrought his ultimate destruction. The tempting beauty or personal 
fascination of this woman seems to have completely unmanned him; and his varied and 
wonderful history is a striking example of a man of splendid power prostrated and destroyed 
by her whose "feet go down to death," whose "steps take hold on hell." The particular 
incident which this striking picture represents is thus rendered: — 

"And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that 
his soul was vexed unto death, that he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath 
not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's 
womb. If I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like 
any other man. And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and* called 
for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. 
Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand. And 
she made him sleep upon her knees, and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave 
off the seven locks of his head, and she began to afflict him, and. his strength went from him. 
And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, 
I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was 
departed from him." 

26 



DEATH OF SAMSON. 



See Judges xvi. 

HIS superb illustration of the pulling-down of the temple of Dagon is pregnant with 
the very spirit and tumult of destruction and wrath. Here Samson wreaks his 
revenge for all his bitter sufferings among his foes. The- hurry, the terror of the 
flying idolaters, the horror of the falling columns, the bent and straining figure of Samson, of 
whom it says, "So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew 
in his life," are powerfully and splendidly portrayed. 

27 





27 



NAOMI AND HER DAUGHTERS-IN-LAW. 



See Ruth i. 




HE parting of Naomi with her daughters-in-law forms the subject of the present 
engraving. Orpah has just said farewell and departed weeping ; but Ruth, of a 
nobler, more faithful nature, clings to her mother-in-law, and refuses to leave her. 
Her words, as recorded in the Bible, are among the most pathetic annals of devotion and 
domestic love : "And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following 
after thee : for whither thou goest, I will go : and where thou lodgest, I will lodge : thy 
people shall be my people, and thy God my God : Where thou diest, will I die, and there will 
I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me." 

The scene is finely portrayed by the artist. The wide, lonely land, over which the 
parting steps of Orpah lay, yet leads her home to kith and kin ; but for Ruth, Love alone 
is to be the pathway of her future life, and she turns to Naomi, content with her to fix her 
lot, afterwards so beautifully rewarded by years of prosperity and peace. 

28 




28 



RUTH AND BOAZ. 



See Ruth ii, iii, iv. 




HE story of Ruth and Boaz is one of the sweetest idyls ever spoke or sung. The 
character of Ruth, tender and sweet, guided by the wisdom of Naomi, is an unceasing 
delight, showing the heart that beat thousands of years ago in the corn-lands of Judea 
as true in its throbs as is the heart of the maiden in her father's fields to-day, and, to round 
and fill the tale, her filial tenderness and devotion are fitly rewarded in the protection and love 
of the noble Boaz, the kinsman of Naomi. ' Wedded in Bethlehem, city of David and of 
Christ — with the congratulations of the people and the elders — this union of the Israelite and 
the foreigner was peculiarly blessed. To them was born a son, "and they called his name 
Obed : he is the father of Jesse, the father of David." In the engraving Ruth is seen in the 
foreground gathering the scattered wheat, the busy harvesters around her, while Boaz, standing 
near, is directing the young men respecting her: "Let her glean even among the sheaves, and 
reproach her not. And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her; and leave them 
that she may glean them, and rebuke her not." A companion picture to the engraving is 
furnished in these exquisite lines by Thomas Hood : 

She stood breast-high amid the corn, 
Clasped by the golden light of morn, 
Like the sweetheart of the sun, 
Who many a glowing kiss had won. 

On her cheek an autumn flush, 
Deeply ripened ; — such a blush 
In the midst of brown was born, 
Like red poppies grown with corn. 

Round her eyes her tresses fell, — 
Which were blackest none could tell ; 
But long lashes veiled a light 
That had else been all too bright. 

And her hat, with shady rim, 
Made her tressy forehead dim ; — 
Thus she stood among the stooks, 
Praising God with sweetest looks. 

Sure, I said, God did not mean 
Where I reap, thou shouldst but glean : 
Lay thy sheaf adown and come 
Share my harvest and my home. 
29 




29 



THE RETURN OF THE ARK. 



See I Samuel vi. 




HE Ark of the Lord has been taken. Such a mark of the Almighty's high dis- 
pleasure has fallen like a dreadful foreboding doom on his stricken and terrified 
people. Eli, the priest, — he who had judged Israel for forty years, — had fallen at 
the news ; and the day was one of bitterness to young and old. For seven months the Ark 
had remained in the land of its captors, but they are months of mourning, of death and of 
disease, and the Philistines hasten to bear it back, for it proves too heavy a burden to 
them to endure the wrath of the God of Israel. 

It is this return that the artist has illustrated. The narrative itself is pastoral in the 
extreme and full of a subtle beauty. "And the kine took the straight way to the way of 
Bethshemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they went, and turned not aside to 
the right hand, or to the left: and the lords of the Philistines went after them, unto the 
border of Bethshemesh. And they of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the 
valley ; and they lifted up their eyes, and saw the Ark, and rejoiced to see it." How lovely 
is the artist's translation! What a glowing redundance of light floods the charming scene! 
High in the background, against a vast fan of spreading radiance, is seen the cart, with its 
lofty, white-winged cherubim, its lowing kine, slowly coming on : in the middle distance the 
shadowy forms of the reapers, and in the foreground the people amid their sheaves, all alert, 
joyful, enraptured at the glorious vision. Well may the artist have wrapped the whole 
scene in intensest light, as emblematic of him who dwelleth in light unapproachable. 

30 




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30 



SAUL AND DAVID. 



See i Samuel xviii. 




AUL had become jealous of David because of the praises of the people. "And it 
came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the 
Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, 
to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of music. And the women 
answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David 
his ten thousands. And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him, and he said, 
They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands, 
and what can he have more, but the kingdom ? And Saul eyed David from that day, and 
forward. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon 
Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house ; and David played with his hand, as 
at other times ; and there was a javelin in Saul's hand. And Saul cast the javelin, for 
he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it; and David avoided out of his presence 
twice." The beautiful figure of the minstrel lad, who, with harp in hand, is shrinking to 
the wall to avoid the fatal thrust of the king's javelin, the terror in his youthful counte- 
nance, and the passionate rage of the king, troubled " with the evil spirit from God," the 
fading background, and palatial architecture, all combine to form a simple but thoroughly 
dramatic scene. 




3i 



DAVID SPARES SAUL. 



See I Samuel xxiv. 




| AVID is in the wilderness of En-gedi." Saul, with a host of three thousand men, 
seeks him, still determined on his life. Arrived in the valley, Saul sleeps in the 
very cave in which David and his band have taken refuge. David's followers 
advise him to seize the opportunity, and put Saul to death ; but he refuses to lay his hand 
on " the anointed of the Lord," and only, while Saul is asleep, cuts off the skirt of his 
garment. After leaving the cave, the king is presently arrested by the voice of David, who 
declares to him his innocency of his intention towards his life, notwithstanding the words of 
his enemies. Saul is melted to contrition, and returns home; but, evidently still suspicious. 
" David and his men gat them up unto the hold." 

In this bold and picturesque engraving all the components conform to the one purpose 
of exhibiting, in the strongest possible manner, the disparity between the two groups. Saul, 
representing the power and prerogative of the nation, and surrounded by all the pomp and 
circumstance of war, occupies the precipitous cliffs, with his followers, a band winding along 
all the mountain side, with spears gleaming in the light. David, with only a few devoted 
adherents, who have been hunted in caves, in the " strongholds of the wood " and upon 
the rocks of the wild goats," has come out into the open valley below, in full view of the 
army of Saul. Holding up the fragment of the king's garment he says to him : " My father, 
see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand ; for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe 
and killed thee not, know thou and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine 
hand, and I have not sinned against thee ; yet thou huntest my soul to take it." 



DEATH OF SAUL. 



See I Samuel xxxi. 




TUMULTUOUS battle-scene closes the stormy life of Israel's first king. Bold, 
rebellious, uncontrolled and turbulent in spirit, Saul cast away from him, in his 
distempered career, every gift that Providence had bestowed upon him. A restless 
suspicion and jealousy has banished from his side the faithful David ; Jonathan and his brothers 
have fallen in the battle ; and now Saul, fearing death and insult from the Philistines, begs his 
armor-bearer to thrust him through with his sword. " But his armor-bearer would not ; for he 
was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it." His armor-bearer followed 
his example, and thus perished the haughty Saul by his own unblessed hand. David, on 
receiving the news of Saul's and Jonathan's death, slays the self-accusing messenger, and then 
pours forth his grief in this magnificent lamentation : 

"The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places; how are the mighty fallen ! Tell it 
not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, 
lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, 
neither let there be rain upon you, nor fields of offerings ; for there the shield of the mighty is 
vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil. From the 
blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the 
sword of Saul returned not empty. Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives; 
and in their death they were not divided : they were swifter than Eagles, they were stronger 
than Lions. Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other 
delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel. How are the mighty fallen in the 
midst of the battle ! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places. I am distressed for thee, 
my brother Jonathan : very pleasant hast thou been unto me ; thy love to me was wonderful, 
passing the love of women. How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!" 

33 



THE DEATH OF ABSALOM. 




See II Samuel xv, xvi, xvii, xviii. 

BSALOM was the third son of King David, his mother being Maacah, daughter of 
Talmai, king of Geshur. He was greatly admired among the Israelites for his 
beauty. " From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head, there was no blemish 
in him." Especially was he distinguished for the beauty of his hair, which grew so luxuriantly 
that when at the end of each year he was shorn, its weight was equal to two hundred shekels 
of silver. But he was vain and deceitful of heart ; and his ambition, and perhaps envy of his 
brother Solomon, led him to plot against the king his father and to conspire with his enemies 
for his overthrow. He set himself diligently to work in various subtle ways to win over the 
people to himself, affectionately embracing all who approached to salute him, and saying to 
those who came to the king for judgment, " O that I were made judge in the land, that every 
man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice." Thereby 
he won their hearts and alienated them from King David. When he had thus gathered around 
him a sufficient number, he proceeded to Hebron — first obtaining his father's permission, under 
the pretense that he wished to pay a vow unto the Lord — and was there proclaimed king. 
When the news was brought to David by a messenger that the hearts of the men of Israel 
were with Absalom, he fled in haste from Jerusalem, attended by his servants and such men 
of the city as were still loyal, and passed over the Jordan, finding an asylum in the city 
of Mahanaim. 

Absalom took possession of Jerusalem, and was there solemnly anointed king. Afterwards 
he set out with a large army in pursuit of his father, following him across the Jordan. David 
gathered together his devoted people, and wished to lead them to battle himself; but they 
restrained him, saying, "Thou shalt not go forth: for if we flee away, they will not care for us ; 
neither if half of us die, will they care for us; but now thou art worth ten thousand of us; 
therefore now it is better that thou succor us out of the city. So David sent forth his army 
under the command of three trusted leaders, after charging them to deal gently with Absalom, 
whom he still greatly loved. The king's people met the hosts of Absalom in the wood of 
Ephraim and overwhelmed them, slaying twenty thousand men. Absalom sought to escape on 
the back of a mule, but in passing under an immense oak, his hair caught in the boughs, and 
the mule fled from under him, leaving him suspended in the air. When a messenger who had 
witnessed this informed Joab, the chief captain in David's army, he hastened to the spot, and, 
unmindful of the command of the king, " he took three darts in his hand and thrust them 
through the heart of Absalom, while yet he was alive in the midst of the oak. And ten young 
men that bore Joab's armor compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him." Then he 
was cast into a pit in the forest, and stones were thrown upon him in token of bitter hostility. 

In the engraving the fate of Absalom is strikingly portrayed. From one of the gnarled 
branches of the spreading oak we behold the wretched victim, held tightly by his strong locks — 
perhaps conscious that death is speedily to overtake him ; for Joab and his followers, mounted 
on swift steeds, are seen galloping towards him, their stern features, wild shouts and angry 
gestures showing the spirit of vengeance that inflames their hearts. 

34 




34 



DAVID MOURNING OVER ABSALOM. 



See II Samuel xviii. 




FTER the great battle in the wood of Ephraim, which resulted in the complete 
overthrow of the rebellious followers of Absalom, and in the restoration of the 
kingdom to David, Cushi and Ahimaaz, the son of Zadock, were dispatched to 
Mahanaim to bear the tidings to the king. "And David sat between the two gates: and the 
watchman went up to the roof over the gate unto the wall, and lifted up his eyes and looked, 
and behold a man running alone. And the watchman cried, and told the king. And the king 
said, If he be alone, there is tidings in his mouth. And he came apace, and drew near. 
And the watchman saw another man running, and the watchman called unto the porter and 
said, Behold another man running alone. And the king said, He also bringeth tidings. 
And the watchman said, Methinketh the running of the foremost is like the running of 
Ahimaaz, the son of Zadock. And the king said, He is. a good man, and cometh with good 
tidings. And Ahimaaz called and said unto the king, All is well. And he fell down to the 
earth upon his face before the king, and said, Blessed be the Lord thy God, which hath delivered 
up the men that lifted up their hand against my lord the king. And the king said, Is the young 
man Absalom safe ? And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king's servant, and me thy 
servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was. And the king said unto him, Turn 
aside, and stand here. And he turned aside,. and stood still. And, behold, Cushi came; and 
Cushi said, Tidings, my lord the king : for the Lord hath avenged thee this day of all them that 
rose up against thee. And the king said unto Cushi, Is the young man Absalom safe ? And 
Cushi answered, The enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee to do thee 
hurt, be as that young man is. And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber 
over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son 
Absalom ! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!" 

The affection of David for his children was often most touchingly manifested, as when he 
mourned for the young child of Bath-Sheba, and for Amnon, whom Absalom slew. Still more 
pathetic was his lamentation over the death of Absalom, which is here so strikingly pictured. 

35 




35 



SOLOMON. 




N this patriarchal and statuesque figure of Solomon, now in his old age, M. Dore 
gives him all that dignity and repose which his years of command, knowledge and 
experience would legitimately entail. It would seem as if he were in the very act 
of composing, in sternest truth, the pages of that wonderfully profound collection of Proverbial 
lore, that tells so much, in ripened thought, of collected observation on human life and vanity, 
and which closes in one of the noblest tributes ever offered to the worth of womanhood. 

36 




3^ 



THE JUDGMENT OF SOLOMON. 



See I Kings iii. 




LL the eyes of Judea were on the young King Solomon. To an Eastern people, 
governed by an irresponsible sovereign, their happiness lies mercilessly in his hands. 
This judgment, therefore, between the rival claims of the false mother and the true, 
brought thus early before their king, would be, in their estimation, a criterion of his skill, 
wisdom and character, and a pregnant indication of their own future happiness or woe. 

"Then said the King, The one saith, This is my son, that liveth, and thy son is the dead:- 
and the other saith Nay: but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living. And the King said, 
Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king; and the king said, Divide the 
living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other. Then spake the woman 
whose the living child was, unto the king (for her bowels yearned upon her son), and she said, 
O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it : but the other said, Let it be neither 
mine nor thine, but divide it. Then the King answered and said, Give her the living child, and 
in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof. And all Israel heard of the Judgment which the 
king had judged, and they feared the King: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, 
to do judgment." 

The sentiment of the picture is well shown in the appealing agony of the one woman and 
the indifference of the other, in the dramatic attitude of the executioner and of the youthful 
judge, towards whom the surrounding spectators turn with tense and eager gaze. It is a grand 
representation of an oriental court in the ancient time, the regal splendor of the youthful king 
being greatly heightened by relieving him against a background of choice decorative design. 

37 



THE CEDARS DESTINED FOR THE TEMPLE 



See I Kings v. 




HERE has ever been attached something peculiarly sacred and noble to the Cedars 
of Lebanon. They have stood as a figure for everything grand and lofty, and 
doubtless their use and high estimation in the building of the Temple has had much 
to do in originating and continuing this impression. M. Dore, in the scene before us, has 
presented a declivity of the mountain covered with groups of busy workmen, engaged in the 
occupation of felling and removing these magnificent trees to their floats by the sea-shore. The 
background is dim with umbrageous foliage, except in the open spaces where the laborers are 
hewing and trimming the fallen monarchs of the wood. The foreground is a splendidly wrought 
scene of busiest life. Two immense boles — evidently the chief of all their brethren — on heavy, 
cumbrous wheels, are being conveyed down the mountain side, and the straining labor and 
bustle and anxiety incident to their starting are fully brought out in the engraving. The gaily 
caparisoned horses are urged on or held in check by the excited men, the mounted overseers 
are busy with directions, and the woodmen themselves have paused in groups to watch the 
progress of the work. It is, perhaps, the finest landscape in the book. 

38 



THE PROPHET SLAIN BY A LION. 



See I Kings xiii. 




i HIS scene represents a prophet of the Lord slain for his disobedience. Commis- 
sioned from on high to denounce the idolatry of Jeroboam, he had in this fulfilled 
his duty. He had refused to eat or drink with the king, and was returning, in 
all obedience, by another path than that by which he came. Met by an old prophet of 
Bethel, he is invited to his board. After first refusing, he is at length persuaded by these 
words : " I am a prophet also, as thou art ; and an angel spake unto me by the word of 
the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and 
drink water ; but he lied unto him. So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his 
house and drank water." * * " And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after 
he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had 
brought back. And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way and slew him, and his 
carcass was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it; the lion also stood by the carcass." 

39 



=3 




ELIJAH DESTROYING THE MESSENGERS OF AHAZIAH. 



See II Kings i. 




LIJAH the prophet has been considered " the grandest and most romantic character 
that Israel ever produced." Of his early life it is only known that he came 
from a nomadic and unsettled people dwelling beyond the Jordan — a people em- 
ployed either in the chase or in the quieter labors of pastoral life. There, among the lonely 
hills, came to him the knowledge of Jehovah ; there he was nurtured in the sublime faith 
which he afterwards enforced with such fearlessness and fiery zeal. He first appeared in 
Israel to rebuke the dishonor against God which had been brought upon the nation by 
Ahab and Jezebel, in introducing the worship of Baal. His appearance is thus abruptly 
announced in the seventeenth chapter of I Kings : " And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of 
the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom 
I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. And the 
word of the Lord came unto him saying, Get thee hence and turn thee Eastward, and hide 
thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be that thou shalt drink 
of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there." When the brook 
became dry, he was commanded to go to Zarephath, between Tyre and Sidon. Here he 
dwelt with a widow, and the little oil in her cruse and the handful of meal she possessed 
were constantly increased and made to supply their wants. During the third year of the 
famine which had prevailed throughout Samaria, for lack of rain, Elijah again appeared 
before Ahab, and then occurred his triumph over the prophets of Baal upon Mount Carmel. 
Again he was obliged to flee from the fierce anger of Jezebel, taking refuge in the desert 
of Beer-sheba, where he sat down under a juniper tree, and "requested for himself that he 
might die." Going afterwards to Mount Horeb, he there communed with God, and was 
comforted, and it was announced to him that Elisha should become his successor. Still once 
more he confronted Ahab — this time to denounce his crime against Naboth. After the death 
of Ahab his son Ahaziah became king, and perpetuated the idolatrous practices of his 
parents. Having been injured by falling through a lattice in his chamber, he sent to Ekron 
to ask of the god Baalzebub whether he should recover. The messengers were met by 
Elijah, who announced in the name of God that Ahaziah should never leave his bed, but 
should "surely die. 

"Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty, with his fifty; and he went up to him, 
(and behold, he sat on the top of a hill) and he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the 
king hath said, Come down. And Elijah answered, and said to the captain of fifty, If I be 
a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume thee and thy fifty. And 
there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. Again also he sent 
unto him another captain of fifty, with his fifty ; And he answered, and said unto him, O 
man of God, Thus hath the king said, Come down quickly. And Elijah answered, and said 
unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee, and 
thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him, and his fifty. 
The headlong destruction of the messengers of Ahaziah is powerfully wrought out in 

the engraving. 

40 



ELIJAH'S ASCENT IN A CHARIOT OF FIRE. 



See II Kings ii. 




[HE closing scene in the life of the great prophet was more marvellous and im- 
pressive than any other presented, even in a career so associated with miracles, so 
wrapped up in startling and extraordinary events. His undaunted courage and 
fortitude in the midst of perils, his unfaltering trust in God and devotion to the Jehovistic 
faith of his fathers, render him one of the most majestic characters among the whole line of 
Hebrew prophets, and have caused him to be associated even with Moses himself in the 
reverence of his nation. 

It was a difficult matter for the artist to represent so exceptional and extraordinary a 
scene with due impressiveness, and at the same time avoid exaggeration and preserve an 
apparent naturalness, and in this light the achievement of M. Dore is quite notable. The 
countenance of the prophet is benignant, his form majestic, and the sweeping action of the 
clouds to represent the whirlwind which bore him aloft is finely conceived and executed. 
What follows is the account given in II Kings of the prophet's translation : 

"And it came to pass when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirl- 
wind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I 
pray thee : for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel ; and Elisha said unto him, As the Lord 
liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel. And 
the sons of the Prophets that were at Bethel, came forth to Elisha, and said unto him. 
Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to-day ? And he 
said, Yea, I know it, hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I 
pray thee : for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho : And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as 
thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the Prophets 
that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will 
take away thy master from thy head to-day? and he answered, Yea, I know it, hold ye 
your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here: for the Lord hath sent 
me to Jordan. And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave 
thee. And they two went on. And fifty men of the sons of the Prophets went, and stood 
to view afar off; and they two stood by Jordan. And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped 
it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two 
went over on dry ground. 

"And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask 
what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, 
let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing : 
nevertheless, if thou see me, when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee: but if 
not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass as they still went on and talked, that behold, 
there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder, and 
Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." 

4 l 




4i 



4 




THE DEATH OF JEZEBEL. 



See I Kings xxi, xxii ; II Kings ix. 

N the first book of Kings is recorded the story of Jezebel's wickedness — her idolatry, 
her persecution of the prophets and her crime against Naboth ; the second book 
contains the account of her painful and tragic death. There was a vineyard near the 
palace of her husband, King Ahab, which he greatly desired to possess ; but Naboth, who had 
received it as an inheritance from his fathers, refused to part with it, and so the king retired 
to his chamber in great disquiet, and brooded foolishly over his disappointment. Jezebel, 
perceiving the distress of her husband, bade him arise and eat and be merry of heart, and 
promised that the vineyard of Naboth should be given him. Then she caused it to be charged 
against Naboth that he had blasphemed against God and the king. This brought upon him the 
fury of the people, who took him forth from the city and stoned him to death. 

Ahab now thought himself secure in the possession of the coveted vineyard, and proceeded 
thither to enjoy it; but he was quickly sought by the prophet Elijah, who condemned him, 
gave warning of the impending destruction of all his house, and prophesied that the guilty 
queen should be eaten by dogs at the wall of Jezreel. Jehu was afterwards appointed to reign 
over Israel, and thus was he commissioned by the young prophet who anointed him: "Thou 
shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the 
Prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, at the hand of Jezebel." 

Jehu is seen in the picture, with his armed followers, beneath the windows of Jezebel's 
palace, and her attendants, in obedience to his command, are hurling her to the earth below. 
There, at the base of the wall and among the armed host are the savage dogs, waiting to tear 
and devour her. The composition is spirited, carefully executed, but withal so realistic as 

almost to cause a shudder to the beholder. 

42 




42 



ESTHER CONFOUNDING HAMAN. 



See Esther vii. 




|STHER, the beautiful Jewess, queen of Ahasuerus, king of Persia, banquets the king 
and his favorite courtier Haman, the enemy of Mordecai, Esther's "cousin, and of the 
Jews. On the second day of the banquet, at the request of the King, Esther makes 
known her petition, in these words, "If I have found favor in thy sight, O King, and if it please 
the King, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request. For we are 
sold, I, and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish : but if we had been sold for 
bondmen, and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although, the enemy could not countervail 
the king's damage. Then the king Ahasuerus answered, and said unto Esther the Queen : 
Who is he? and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so? And Esther said, The 
adversary and enemy, is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the King and 
the Queen. And the king arising from the banquet of wine in his wrath, went into the palace 
garden : and Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the Queen : for he saw 
that there was evil determined against him by the King." The queenly dignity of Esther, the 
piercing look of the king, indicating his kindling wrath and angry suspicion, and the guilty 
consciousness of Haman, exhibit in a high' degree the graphic skill and dramatic force of 
the artist. 

43 



ISAIAH. 




SAIAH, the most magnificent of the Prophets ! He who foretold the coming of our 
Lord the Saviour in words burning with the inspiration of God ! The scene por- 
trays him kneeling on the mountain cliff, bent in rapt and awe-struck communion 
with his Lord. Before him a grand sweep of country ; hill and valley, mountain and ravine ; 
waters desolate and wide ; above, the bending skies. The artist has rarely been happier than 
in this isolated and striking scene, in unison with the subject of his sketch. 

44 




44 



THE DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB'S HOST. 




See Isaiah xxxvi., xxxvii. 

ENNACHERIB, the mightiest of the Assyrian kings, succeeded to the throne of 
his father Sargon at a time when the glory of the kingdom was waning and its 
power becoming greatly reduced. By successive conquests he extended his do- 
minion over the surrounding nations. First he crushed a revolt in Babylonia. Then sub- 
duing one after another of the tribes along the Tigris and Euphrates, he carried his con- 
quering legions into Egypt and Palestine, wresting from Judah all that she had gained by 
the valor of Hezekiah. After taking all the defended cities, a large portion of his army 
was sent from Lachish, under the command of Rabshakeh, to demand of Hezekiah the sur- 
render of Jerusalem. The king, following the advice of Isaiah the prophet, refused to ca- 
pitulate, and the invaders were preparing to take the city ; but during the night before the 
battle was to occur, " The Angel of the Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the 
Assyrians a hundred and four score and five thousand ; and when they arose early in the 
morning behold they were all dead corpses." This event forms the subject of one of the 
finest of the " Hebrew Melodies " of Byron, and we place it before the picture which it 
so admirably describes : 

The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold, 
And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold ; 
And the sheen of. their spears were like stars on the sea 
When the blue wave rolls lightly on deep Galilee. 

Like the leaves of the forest when Summer is green, 
That host, with their banners, at sunset were seen, 
Like the leaves of the forest when Autumn hath blown, 
That host on the morrow lay wither'd and strown. 

For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast, 
And breathed in the face of the foe as he pass'd; 
And the eyes of the sleepers wax'd deadly and chill 
And their hearts but once heav'd, and forever grew still ! 

And there lay the steed with his nostrils all wide, 
But through it there roll'd not the breath of his pride : 
And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf, 
And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf. 

And there lay the rider distorted and pale, 
With the dew on his brow, and the rust on his mail ; 
And the tents were all silent, the banners alone, 
The lances unlifted, the trumpet unblown. 

And the widows of Ashur are loud in their wail, 
And the idols are broken in the temple of Baal ; . 
And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword, 
Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord. 

45 




45 




BARUCH. 



See Jeremiah xxxii., xxxvi. 

ARUCH was of noble lineage, and gained distinction for his superior acquirements, 
as well as through his relation with the prophet Jeremiah, whose friend, compan- 
ion and amanuensis he became, writing his prophecies from dictation, and after- 
terwards reading them to assemblages of the people in the Temple. The princes who heard 
the words of the prophet were afraid, and said to Baruch, " Go hide thee, thou and Jere- 
miah, and let no man know where ye be. And they went in to the king into the court, 
but they laid up the roll in the chamber of Elishama, the Scribe, and told all the words in 
the ear of the king." Then King Jehoiakim sent for the roll containing the prophecies, but 
was so much displeased that, as the sentences were read, he cut them out with his penknife 
and threw them into the fire, till the whole roll was consumed. Baruch and Jeremiah had 
concealed themselves, and while thus secure against the wrath of the king, re-wrote the 
whole of the prophecies, and " added besides unto them many like words." Baruch was 
afterwards imprisoned with Jeremiah, and was also carried with him to Egypt, where, accord- 
ing to one tradition, he died. Another asserts that his days were ended in Babylon. The 
artist has represented him reclining upon the hard prison floor, with his rolls of manuscript 
about him, in rapt meditation. He has an intense and introspective, but patient and sor- 
rowful cast of countenance — one that would seem to convey the impression of entire absorp- 
tion in the great work to which he was called. 

46 










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4 6 



EZEKIEL PROPHESYING. 



See Ezekiel ii. 




HE second chapter of the book of Ezekiel begins with an account of the Prophet's 
commission, in these words : 

" And he said unto me, son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto 
thee. And the spirit entered into me, when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, 
that I heard him that spake unto me : And he said unto me, son of man, I send thee to 
the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me : They and their 
fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day. For they are impudent chil- 
dren and stiff-hearted. I do send thee unto them, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith 
the Lord God. And they, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear (for they 
are a rebellious house), yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them. 

" And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though 
briars and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions : be not afraid of their 
words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. And thou shalt 
speak my words unto them, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear, for they 
are most rebellious. But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee. Be not thou rebel- 
lious like that rebellious house : open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee." 

The prophet, as represented in the picture, is of commanding presence — one indeed to 
awaken the sluggish hearts of his listeners and infuse them with some portion of his own 
sincerity, earnestness and zeal. From that freighted brow may well have sprung the noble 
thought and glowing^ imagery — the parable, the proverbs, poems, allegories, the pathetic 
appeals and solemn warnings — with which his writings abound. At his feet are gathered a 
few who apparently listen with thoughtful interest, while those beyond seem yet too timid 
to approach him nearer. 

47 




47 



THE VISION OF EZEKIEL. 




See Ezekiel xxxvii. 

URING the reign of King Jehoiachin (about 590 b. c), Nebuchadnezzar, king of 
Babylon, besieged Jerusalem, and carried away as captives the king and many of the 
people. Among them was Ezekiel, the son of Buzi, who had formerly been a priest 
in the Temple at Jerusalem. He settled, with other exiles, near the Chebar, a river flowing 
into the Euphrates, and here his prophetic ministry began. The book of his prophecies 
furnishes the only account of his personal history, and this is but meagre. In the first 
chapter it is recorded that he received the gift of prophecy in the fifth year of Jehoiachin's 
captivity. His prophecies cover a period of more than twenty years. Little is known of 
his subsequent history, but it is supposed that he died in exile. He was held in the highest 
esteem by his people, and was consulted by them upon all important occasions. His writings 
are characterized by a lofty spirit of devotion and moral earnestness, and he exhibited the 
most intense zeal and strength of purpose in his character and in his high calling. In the 
accompanying engraving the artist gives a thrilling and powerful presentation of the vision 
in the Valley of Dry Bones, which represented the unhappy condition of Israel, but with 
promises of consolation and of a renewal of the national life. 

" The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and 
set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, and caused me to pass by 
them round about, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and lo, they were 
very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord 
God, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto 
them : O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these 
bones ; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live. And I will lay 
sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath 
in you, and ye shall live, and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 

" So I prophesied as I was commanded : and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and 
behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, 
the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above ; but there 
was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of 
man, and say unto the wind, Thus saith the Lord God ; Come from the four winds, O 
breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded 
me, and the- breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an ex- 
ceeding great army. 

" Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel : behold 
they say : Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost, we are cut off for our parts. Therefore 
prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, O my people, I will open 
your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land 
of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my 
people, and brought you up out of your graves, And shall put my spirit in you, and ye 
shall live, and I shall place you in your own land : then shall ye know that I the Lord have 

spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord." 

48 



DANIEL. 







ANIEL, called by Gabriel the " greatly beloved of God," forms one of the most 
consistent figures — consistent in itself — in Old Testament story. He is introduced" 
to us in the book which bears his name as being one of the four personages of 
the Jewish captivity (b.c. 604) who, at the royal Assyrian court, refusing the dainty nutri- 
ment from the king's table, desired " pulse to eat, and water to drink." He is considered 
the fourth of " the great prophets ;" and although nothing is known of his lineage, it seems 
probable that he was of noble or even of royal descent. As his three years of court train- 
ing drew to a close, he comes into high favor on the occasion of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, 
which he alone was found capable of translating. A second dream of the king's he also 
afterwards interprets, and yet again the handwriting which appeared on the wall at Belshaz- 
zar's feast. Under the reign of Darius, and at the accession of Cyrus, he still retained his 
prosperity, and it was in " the third year of Cyrus " that " he saw his last recorded vision 
on the banks of the Tigris." The contemplative figure given us by M. Dore of the great 
prophet, scroll in hand, by the river-side, is simple and grand, wedded withal to something 
of the sadness of a captive's mien. 

49 



, 




%-. 



jK _- 



49 



THE FIERY FURNACE. 



See Daniel iii. 




EBUCHADNEZZAR, the king, made a magnificent image of gold and set it up "in 
the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon." Then all the great officers of his 
kingdom were summoned to its dedication, and proclamation was made in these 
words: "At what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, 
and all kinds of music, ye fall down, and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the 
King hath set up ; and whoso falleth not down and worshipeth, shall the same hour be cast 
into the midst of a burning fiery furnace." But Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, the three 
companions of Daniel, men of the Jewish captivity, will not comply with this idolatrous 
command ; and, accused by their enemies, are summoned before the king, where, notwith- 
standing his anger, they are yet given another opportunity of worshipping the image and 
saving their lives. They refuse and are cast into the furnace heated "one seven times more 
than it was wont to be heated." 

* 50 




SO 



BELSHAZZARS FEAST. 




ELSHAZZAR was the last of the Babylonian kings, and it is claimed, on good authority, 
by Sir Henry Rawlinson and others that he was the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, 
and only shared with his father Nabonadius in the government of the kingdom ; but 
that on the invasion of the Persians Nabonadius advanced to meet Cyrus, leaving Belshazzar 
upon the throne in Babylon. This agrees with the Bible account that Daniel was the third ruler 
in the kingdom. By diverting the river into another channel, Cyrus and his army were enabled 
to march into the city through its dry bed. While the Persians were thus engaged, at dead of 
night, the court of Belshazzar were holding a grand feast in the palace. During their revelry 
the king ordered the sacred vessels belonging to the Temple of Jerusalem, which had been 
carried away by Nebuchadnezzar, to be brought forth, and from these they "drank wine, and 
praised the gods of gold and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. In the same 
hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the 
plaster of the wall of the king's palace, and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. 
Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of 
his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another." He hastily summoned the 
wise men of Babylon ; but none of them could interpret the strange characters. Then the 
queen remembered Daniel, as one in whom was "light and understanding anu excellent 
wisdom." He was called, and thus read and interpreted the handwriting: "Mene, mene, tekel 
upharsin. This is the interpretation of the thing: Mene — God hath numbered thy kingdom, 
and finished it. Tekel — thou art weighed in the balances and art found wanting. Peres — thy 
kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians." 

The artist has portrayed this scene most impressively. Before the sumptuous court stands 
the prophet, pointing towards the fateful message he was called to decipher, while from the 
wall upon which the fear-smitten revellers gaze is poured down a flood of supernal light, 
dazzling the beholders, and illumining the richly sculptured walls and brilliant costumes. The 
massive architecture of the palace adds much to the effectiveness of the picture. Byron has 
thus graphically described the scene : 



The king was on his throne, 

The Satraps throng'd the hall; 
A thousand bright lamps shone 

O'er that high festival. 
A thousand cups of gold 

In Judah deem'd Divine — 
Jehovah's vessels hold 

The godless heathen's wine. 

In that same hour and hall, 

The fingers of a hand 
Came forth against the wall 

And wrote as if on sand : 
The fingers of a man ; — 

A solitary hand 
Along the letters ran 

And traced them like a wand. 

The monarch saw, and shook, 

And bade no more rejoice ; 
All bloodless wax'd his look, 

And tremulous his voice. 
"Let the men of lore appear — 

The wisest of the earth, 
And expound the words of fear 

Which mar our royal mirth." 



51 



Chaldea's seers are good, 

But here they have no skill ; 
And the unknown letters stood 

Untold and awful still. 
And Babel's men of age 

Are wise and deep in lore ; 
But now they were not sage 

They saw — but knew no more. 

A captive in the land, 

A stranger and a youth — 
He heard the king's command, 

He saw that writing's truth. 
The lamps around were bright, 

The prophecy in view; 
He read it on that night, — 

The morrow proved it true 

'Belshazzar's grave is made, 

His kingdom pass'd away 
He in the balance weighed 

Is light and worthless clay. 
The shroud his robe of state, 

His canopy the stone; 
The Mede is at his gate, 

The Persian on his throne." 




5i 



DANIEL IN THE LIONS' DEN. 



See Daniel vi. 




lARIUS the Mede had been pleased to set Daniel chief over all the rulers in his 
kingdom. This preference, acting as usual on the envy of the human heart, excites 
the other presidents and the princes against him. They therefore, unable to find 
fault or flaw in Daniel's government, resolved to attack him on what is to them his only 
vulnerable point — his faithfulness to his God. To this end they persuade the king to establish 
a decree in these words: "That whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty 
days, save of thee, O King, he shall be cast into the den of lions." The king, evidently 
flattered at this proposal, foolishly consented to it, and " signed the writing and the decree," 
which, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, once signed, could not be altered. 
Daniel, faithful in his daily supplications to God, is thereby cunningly ensnared, and, to the 
sincere grief of the king, is cast into the lions' den. God preserves him ; and his enemies, by 
order of the equally ensnared and angry monarch, are thrown into the pit, there to be instantly 
destroyed. The resigned and noble figure of Daniel, with the ferocious beasts subdued around 
him — held in check by an invisible power — is a successful and spirited delineation of this 
miraculous scene. 

52 




52 



THE PROPHET AMOS. 



See Amos i.-ix. 




MOS, one of the minor prophets, was called from humble life, having been a shep- 
herd at Tekoa, and also a dresser of sycamore trees. The date of his prophecies 
is about 800 B.C. (during the reigns of Uzziah, king of Judah, and Jeroboam, 
king of Israel). It was a period of luxury and gross idolatry, and against these sins, as 
also against the intolerable oppression of the poor, were the prophet's sternest rebukes 
directed. His style is clear and vigorous, sometimes rising to a lofty strain. His writings 
abound in allusions to natural scenes and objects; as well as to agricultural employments — 
the things most familiar to him in his earlier years. It is supposed that he wrote at Tekoa. 
In the engraving we see the prophet leaning upon his staff, lost in the solitude of his 
own thoughts — a figure solemn and majestic, and brought into strong relief against a bril- 
liant sky. There is little variety in the landscape. In the foreground a small cluster of 
stunted cactus struggles through the sand and rocks, the dull level space beyond is broken 
by a projecting wall, and at the far horizon line are dimly traced the outlines of the city's 
towers and walls. The rest is but a vast expanse of earth and sky. The feeling which the 
scene suggests is one of utter loneliness. 

53 



N, 



■V-* 5 " 



JONAH CALLING NINEVEH TO REPENTANCE. 



See Jonah i-iii. 




ONAH, the son of Amittai, one of the five minor Hebrew prophets, was born in 
Gathhepher, a small town in Lower Galilee. But few details of his life are given, 
and these are found only in the book which bears his name, although allusion is made 
to him in other portions of the Scriptures. It is supposed that he lived during the reign of 
Jeroboam II., and some writers maintain that he 'was the first of the prophets. The book of 
Jonah begins with the statement that the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, "Arise, go 
to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it ; for their wickedness is come up before me." 
Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian empire, and one of the largest and wealthiest cities 
of antiquity — "an exceeding great city of three days' journey," says the prophet — surrounded 
by a wall twenty feet high, and so wide that three chariots could be driven side by side upon it. 
It abounded in gardens, in rare sculptured temples and in sumptuous palaces panelled with 
alabaster, one of them covering an area of nearly one hundred acres. It was this city, which 
in the plenitude of its splendor and power had given itself up to wickedness and debauchery, 
that Jonah was commanded to warn of approaching destruction. Fearing to execute this 
command, he " rose up to flee unto Tarshish, from the presence of the Lord," embarking at 
Joppa on a small vessel going thither. During the voyage a storm arose of such violence as 
to threaten the destruction of the vessel. The mariners were in great fear, and said to each 
other, "Come and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So 
they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah." He was thrown overboard, but was swallowed by 
a great fish, which did not devour him, but, at the end of three days and nights, cast him forth 
upon dry land, and he was again sent to Nineveh. Passing into the city a day's journey, he 
began to preach, announcing the destruction of the city within forty days and exhorting the 
people to repentance. They believed him, and did repent. A fast was proclaimed, and even 
the king put on sackcloth and sat in ashes. "And God saw their works, that they turned from 
their evil way, and God repented of the evil that he had said that he would do unto them, and 
he did it not." 

The effect of Jonah's appeal, as shown in the engraving, betrays itself both in the attitudes 
and countenances of his listeners. A group surrounds him, apparently made up of all classes. 
Some appear awed by the majesty of his presence and others overcome by the commanding 
force of his words; some gaze upon him curiously — almost distrustfully, while others have 
bowed their heads or prostrated themselves in humble contrition before him. Even the more 
distant groups have been aroused by the solemn fervor of his exhortation. The picture also 
helps to convey some idea of the architectural magnificence of "the great city." A palace 
rising in the background, one vast colonnade above another, shows the massiveness of its 
structures, while the variety of their design and the richness of their ornamentation are seen 
in the foreground, in pedestal, shaft and sculptured capital. There also is the winged bull with 
human head, a form of symbolism common among the Assyrians, found on all their monumental 
remains, and still the admiration of the historian and the archaeologist. 

54 





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54 



DANIEL CONFOUNDING THE PRIESTS OF BEL. 




See Apocrypha — "Bel and the Dragon." 

N this story Cyrus is represented as King of Persia, and Daniel as standing high in 
the royal estimation. It is the king's wonder that his favorite does not worship 
the idol that he himself adores. Daniel, faithful to his God, will not comply, even 
to please his royal master, though he holds in his hands the power of life and death. Before 
this idol Bel every day a large quantity of food is accustomed to be placed, which, as it has 
totally disappeared each morning, the king sincerely believes to have been consumed by the 
idol, from which he infers that Bel must be a god indeed. Daniel denies this; accordingly 
the priests are summoned, and they, in order to prove that the viands are consumed by the 
image, propose that the daily offering of food shall be brought as usual into the temple, and 
the doors sealed, so that none can enter to disturb it; if therefore the food has vanished in the 
morning, Daniel shall die, as having spoken blasphemy against Bel ; but, if otherwise, then 
they profess themselves ready to perish. The food is brought, the doors sealed, but Daniel 
has taken the precaution to have the floor of the temple strewn with ashes in the presence 
of the king. The priests, entering with their families by a hidden way, are in the habit, every 
night, of consuming the provisions placed before the statue, and thus they evidently consider 
themselves safe from all detection, and, with the usual regardlessness of idolators for human 
bloodshed, would only rejoice at Daniel's destruction. But the morning comes; the king and 
Daniel enter. 

"And the king said, Daniel, are the seals whole? And he said, Yea, O King, they be 
whole. And as soon as he had opened the door, the king looked upon the table, and cried 
with a loud voice, Great thou art, O Bel, and with thee is no deceit at all. Then laughed 
Daniel, and held the king that he should not go in, and said, Behold now the pavement, and 
mark well whose footsteps are these. And the king said, I see the footsteps of men, women 
and children. And then the king was angry, and took the priests with their wives and children, 
who showed him the privy door, where they came in and consumed such things as were upon 
the table. Therefore the king slew them, and delivered Bel into Daniel's power, who destroyed 
him and his temple." 

55 



HELIODORUS PUNISHED IN THE TEMPLE. 




See II Maccabees iii. 

NE Simon, of the tribe of Benjamin, who was made governor of the temple, fell 
out with the high priest about disorder in the city. And when he could not 
overcome Onias, he gat him to Apollonius, the son of Thraseas, who then was 
governor of Celosyria and Phenice, and told him that the treasury in Jerusalem was full of 
infinite sums of money, so that the multitude of their riches, which did not pertain to the 
account of the sacrifices, was innumerable, and that it was possible to bring all into the 
king's hand." 

Apollonius then comes to Seleucus, king of Asia, and informs him of this treasure, who 
then commissions his treasurer, Heliodorus, to bring him the money. He comes to Jerusalem 
and questions the high priest of the city, who informs him "that there was such money laid 
up for the relief of widows and fatherless children," but that some of it also was private 
property. Heliodorus, however, determined to persevere in attempting to possess himself of 
the treasure, according to the command of his master. The high priest and the whole city 
were now in great distress; the priests and the multitude also sought aid through prayer. 
"Nevertheless, Heliodorus executed that which was decreed." Suddenly, "as he was there 
present himself, with his guard, about the treasury," * * "there appeared unto them an 
horse with a terrible rider upon him, and adorned with a very fair covering, and he ran fiercely, 
and smote at Heliodorus with his fore feet, and it seemed that he that sat upon the horse had 
complete harness of gold. Moreover, two other young men appeared before him, notable 
in strength, excellent in beauty, and comely in apparel, who stood by him on either side, and 
scourged him continually, and gave him many sore stripes. And Heliodorus fell suddenly unto 
the ground, and was compassed with great darkness; but they that were with him took him 
up, and put him into a litter." 

This engraving conveys, in a masterly way, the artist's sense of grandeur, his readiness 
to apprehend the salient and picturesque points of his subject, and his power of representing to 
the full all the movement of which his theme is capable. This is shown in the splendid winged 
horse and his avenging rider, with the attendant angels, in the fallen leader and his guard, and 
in those fleeing from the stately precincts of the temple. 

56 




56 



THE NATIVITY. 




See Luke ii. 

|0 the company of shepherds watching their flocks by night, the announcement is made 
by the "Angel of the Lord" of the birth of Jesus. In these sultry lands, where 
the flocks are fed by night and housed by day, the shepherds have the lonely night- 
watches for undisturbed thought, and to devout and earnest men it is a time that impresses 
itself profoundly upon the character. It was therefore appropriate that the "Shepherd of our 
Souls" should thus have been announced to these simple and undoubtedly earnest-hearted men. 
Their "glorifying and praising God" shows the spirit of their mind, and it is this visit of the 
shepherds that the artist has depicted. The infant Saviour, lovely in his helplessness — the 
future Lord of all, the Redeemer — lying on his mother's knees, is a representation that appeals 
unerringly to the deepest chords of the human heart, for it has also another and sweetest 
signification — all power in utter weakness — and endears the sacred character of woman and 
mother, as protectress of the infant Christ, as nothing else can. The picture is very charming 

57 




57 



THE STAR IN THE EAST. 



See Matthew ii. 




HIS most interesting incident in the life of Christ is mentioned by St. Matthew alone. 
Tradition, in adding to the simple narrative of the Apostle, has adorned it in various 
ways, among which are the appointing of three as the number of the Wise men, and 
also the constituting them kings. The number, however, of the Magi is left totally undecided 
in the Biblical account, and the artist has, in his gorgeously oriental rendering of the incident, 
taken a perfectly allowable liberty in increasing their retinue to an indefinite extent. Much 
learned and also much useless discussion has been expended upon this subject. 

At length, owing to the enthusiasm roused by the Empress Helena, during the earlier 
Christian times, in the search after sacred relics, the supposed bodies of the Magi — these 
primitive pilgrims, considered by the church as "the first Gentile worshippers of the Christ" — 
are discovered somewhere in the East. They are conveyed at once to Constantinople, there 
to be placed in the great church of "St. Sophia;" afterwards they are transported to Milan, 
and subsequently, in the times of Frederick Barbarossa, from there conveyed to the magnificent 
cathedral at Cologne, where now they finally rest — the most honored of all its traditional relics. 
This grand procession, peculiarly striking from the stately camels, with their showy 
trappings and the majestic figures which surmount them, fades away into the midnight distance 
with a sumptuous and half-spectral effect, remarkably provocative to the imagination ; it is, in 
fact, a caravan of superb suggestions, that, in conjunction with the profound appropriateness 
of the lustrous heavens, with their Herald Star dominant over all, forms an exceptionally 
beautiful picture. 

58 



THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT. 



See Matthew ii. 




ITTER mourning and woe were brought upon Bethlehem by Herod; but his purpose 
to slay Jesus was baffled; for when the wise men had departed, "behold the angel 
of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child 
and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word : for Herod will 
seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose he took the young child and his mother 
by night, and departed into Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod: that it might 
be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called 
my son." 

The artist has here presented a very sweet and tender scene. The little group — 
father, mother and child, with their plodding, patient beast — have just mounted some rising 
ground, from which Joseph throws a backward glance of troubled watchfulness, while Mary's 
countenance, raised to heaven, seems to rest in the help she so divinely seeks ; the child, 
alone unconscious, dreams in its mother's arms a wakeful dream under the deep, calm skies. 

59 



THE MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS. 



See Matthew ii. 




EROD, who had been appointed by the Roman Senate King- of Judea, conquered 
Jerusalem B. C. 2,7, and thus established his authority over the whole country. His 
reign was signalized throughout by the most wanton deeds of cruelty, his vengeance 
even falling upon his kindred and the nobles of his court. It had been predicted by the 
prophets that there would come a Prince of the house of David to restore and reign over 
the nation and purify the Church, and this prophecy was cherished by the Jews ; hence, when 
the wise men came to Jerusalem, inquiring for the King of the Jews, whose Star they had seen 
in the East, it was in keeping with the character of Herod that he should be " troubled," and 
should seek to destroy him. Calling together the Chief Priests and Scribes, "he demanded 
of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea ; for 
thus it is written by the prophet: And thou Bethlehem in the land of Juda, art not the least 
among the Princes of Juda ; for out of thee shall come a Governor that shall rule my people 
Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the Wise men, inquired of them diligently 
what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search 
diligently for the young child, and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may 
come and worship him also. When they had heard the king they departed, and lo, the star 
which they saw in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young 
child was. When they saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 

"And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his 
mother, and fell down and worshipped him : and when they had opened their treasures, they 
presented unto him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned of God in a 
dream, that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another 
way." * * * 

"Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the Wise men, was exceeding wroth, 
and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, 
from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the 
Wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the Prophet, saying, In Ramah 
was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for 
her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not." 

It is painful to dwell upon a scene of such wild and ruthless ferocity as is here portrayed, 

and yet the picture, with all its literalness, can scarcely exhibit adequately the horror of the 

monstrous deed. The soldiers of Herod, having begun the work of blood, have abandoned 

themselves to the most reckless cruelty. From their vengeance there is no escape. The agony 

and hopeless frenzy of the mothers are all in vain ; and those who shield their little ones too 

closely are sacrificed with them. By the stairway is a mother with her three babes, awaiting, 

with the calmness of despair, the destruction to which they are surely doomed. Surrounded, 

almost overtaken, she can go no farther, and, prone upon the ground, as a pitiful effort against 

fate, she covers them with her body as her only shield. 

60 




6o 



JESUS QUESTIONING THE DOCTORS. 



See Luke ii. 




HIS scene is laid in the Temple at Jerusalem. An earnest group of men — learned 
doctors and expounders of the law — are gathered around the child Jesus. They not 
alone listen intently to his words, but their features show the unfeigned astonishment 
and awe with which they regard him, as his marvellous knowledge and insight, his grasp of 
old doctrines and power of uttering new truths, are unfolded before them. The account of this 
first public ministry of Christ is thus recorded in Luke: 

"Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year, at the feast of the Passover. And when 
he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem, after the custom of the feast. And when 
they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem, and 
Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they supposing him to have been in the company, 
went a day's journey and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when 
they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, 
that after three days they found him in the Temple, sitting in the midst of the Doctors, both 
hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his 
■understanding and answers. And when they saw him, they were amazed : and his mother said 
unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee 
sorrowing. And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be 
about my father's business? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. 
And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: But his 
mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and 
in favor with God and man." 

The composition of the picture is admirable — harmonious and well balanced throughout. 
There is much skill shown in the grouping, the attitudes are unconstrained and graceful, and 
the intense and varying emotions expressed in the countenances exhibit in a marked degree 
the artist's power of expression. 

61 




OT 



JESUS HEALING THE SICK. 




See Matthew iv. 

HAT a gathering of human misery, helplessness and disease ! The mother, with her 
emaciated child in her arms, another bearing one who has the hopeless look of 
idiocy, a sick man prostrate on the ground, a wretched cripple straining to touch the 
hem of his garment, and still another, seemingly half dead, supported by some pitying friend — 
certainly here is wretchedness enough to demand the aid of One Divine ; for such alone could 
help in sorrows and extremities like these. The Saviour in the midst — the fountain from which 
health shall flow to all — presses the forehead of the child, while the rest await the power of his 
miraculous touch to be delivered of their "diseases and torments." The picture is sternly 
realistic, and tells the story with pathetic power. 

62 



SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 




See Matthew v, vi, vii. 

ERE we behold the Saviour delivering the most sublime discourse that ever fell on 
mortal ears. We are told that his fame had already spread through all Syria, and 
that great multitudes of people followed him. " Seeing the multitudes, he went up 
into a mountain," and poured forth to their rapt attention this wonderful compendium of Divine 
knowledge and truth. "And it came to pass when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people 
were astonished at his doctrine. For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the 
Scribes." It seemed like the first great public announcement of his mission, "Peace on earth, 
good will toward men." The design is a superb specimen of Dore's skill — picturesque and 
dramatic, and well balanced throughout. Enthroned on the mountain side, beneath the 
umbrageous trees, the Divinely commissioned leader and comforter is expounding to his 
awakened and wondering followers the solemn and sublime truths of the new dispensation, 
and thus opening to the world, so long in darkness, those first rays of Divine benediction and 
truth that henceforth shall widen into the full'and perfect day. 

63 



CHRIST STILLING THE TEMPEST. 



See Matthew viii. 




I HE scene here so vividly portrayed represents the incident, recorded in Matthew, of 
Christ speaking to the troubled waters. Seeing the multitudes gathered about them, 
Christ and His Disciples entered into a ship upon the shore of the Sea of Galilee. 
While crossing, "there arose a great tempest in the Sea, insomuch that the ship was covered 
with the waves : but he was asleep. And his Disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, 
Lord, save us: we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? 
Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the Sea, and there was a great calm. But the men 
marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the Sea obey him." 

64 



THE DUMB MAN POSSESSED. 



See Matthew ix. 




HE castellated steep with solitary palms against a clear, pale sky, is a charming foil to 
the action of this scene. The miraculous deliverance of the unhappy demoniac, 
sealed up in his silent misery, holds a wider and profounder beauty than any nature 
can give. The haunting of sorrow and pain, where all else is rich and fair, seems to add a 
poignancy to wretchedness itself; yet this blighted soul, so jarring upon the beautiful com- 
ponents of nature and art around it, is, through the Master's Divine influence, set free to 
rejoice and add its jubilant quota to the general praise — a song of gratitude meeter than music 
of bird or lute, and in keeping with the harmony of nature and the heart of man. 

65 ' 



CHRIST IN THE SYNAGOGUE. 



See Matthew xiii. 



ND when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue,, 
insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, 
and these mighty works? Is not this the Carpenter's son? Is not his mother called 
Mary? and his brethren James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they 
not all with us? Whence, then, hath this man all these things?" 

Our Lord, in his own country and amid his own people, pours out in their synagogue his 
gracious words of instruction. The attentive hearers are at first astonished at " this wisdom 
and these mighty works," and wonder whence they come. But envy quickly arises against 
him, when they remember that he is "the Carpenter's son," and that his brethren and sisters 
were among them. So " they were offended in him," and to their own' bitter loss, both 
spiritually and physically, " he did not many mighty works there, because of their unbelief."' 
An admirable group, with the resplendent figure of Christ in their midst. 

66 



THE DISCIPLES PLUCKING CORN ON THE SABBATH. 



See Mark ii. 




HE whole spirit and teaching of Jesus was opposed to the cold formalism and intense 
narrowness of the Pharisees. With them life was measured by rule, and religion 
was made up of set observances and rites. With Jesus religion was a vitalizing 
force, developing and exalting the moral nature, and prompting it to noblest deeds. Hence 
the Pharisees were ever ready with questionings and rebukes, and watchful for every apparent 
infraction of the law. This incident recorded in Mark presents them as openly rebuking him 
for his wandering from the beaten track — the laws and customs of their fathers. Christ, 
detecting the narrow spirit of their creed, opens up before them, in this striking illustration, 
the strength, fullness and liberty of his teachings : 

"And 'it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the Sabbath day, and his 
disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. And the Pharisees said unto him, 
Behold, why do they on the Sabbath day that which is not lawful ? And he said unto them, 
Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was a hungered, he, and they that 
were with him? How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high Priest, 
and did eat the Shew-bread, which is not lawful to eat, but for the Priests, and gave also to 
them which were with him? And he said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not 
man for the Sabbath : Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." 

In the picture Christ is the noble central figure, on one side the eager Pharisees, on the 
other the transgressing Disciples. The attitude of Christ is that of the calm and benignant 
teacher. The whole scene is suffused with the golden, mellow light of harvest time. 

67 



JESUS WALKING ON THE WATER. 



See Mark vi. 




ESUS, just after the miracle of feeding the five thousand, had retired " into a 
mountain to pray." Meanwhile he had constrained his disciples to enter a ship 
and cross to the other side of the lake. " And when even was come, the ship 
was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land." From the mountain height he 
beholds them "toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary." Mindful of their toil and 
trouble, " about the fourth watch of the night " the Saviour comes to them, walking over 
the swelling waves. The affrighted disciples cry out, for they supposed it had been a spirit. 
The Saviour speaks — " Be of good cheer : It is I ; be not afraid." The wind ceased and 
their toil and their terror are alike at rest. The dim "ship" against the dawning light, the 
wind-swept figure of our Lord and the boisterous sea are all beautiful renderings of this 
miraculous scene. 

68 




68 



CHRIST'S ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM. 




See Mark xi. 

HRIST'S one hour of earthly triumph has come; it is the burning burst of sunset 
that, after the gloomy day, heralds, in the far horizon, the falling night. Soon comes 
the final scene., But now, with rejoicing thousands, with branches of palm and 
acclamations of joy and praise, he enters the city that he loves, among the very foes whom he 
dies to save. The hoary walls, the thronging people, the lowly beast that bears the Lord of 
all, the graceful palms and fair Judean sky, are the rich and appropriate adjuncts of this 
striking scene. 

69 



JESUS AND THE TRIBUTE MONEY. 



See Mark xii. 




! HE chiei Priests and Scribes and Elders of Jerusalem came to Jesus as he was 
walking in the Temple, and when they began to question him as to his authority, 
he delivered to them the parable of the "wicked husbandman." Then they be- 
came greatly incensed, and " sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people ; for they 
knew that he had spoken the parable against them ; and they left him, and went their way. 

"And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him 
in his words. And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art 
true, and carest for no man ; for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the 
way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Cesar, or not? Shall we give, or shall 
we not give ? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me ? bring 
me a penny, that I may see it. And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is 
this image and superscription ? And they said unto him, Cesar's. And Jesus answering, 
said unto them, Render to Cesar the things that are Cesar's, and to God the things that 
are God's. And they marvelled at him." 

This reply was not only a fitting rebuke to those who were endeavoring to ensnare 
him, but was a fine example of practical wisdom, showing the duty of conformity in all es- 
sential and proper ways to the customs and demands of society and of the state. 

The calm dignity and nobleness expressed in the countenance of Jesus is in marked 
distinction to the hardened, restless and insidious faces of those gathered around him. 

70 






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70 



THE WIDOW'S MITE. 



See Mark xii. 




jHE episode of the widow's mite is a most encouraging example of Christ's constant 
notice of the poor and humble. Their ways were wound around his heart, and 
in this incident there shines forth a double beauty; for not alone his encouragement 
of the offerings of the poor is here to be noticed, but the deeper truth that the motive of the 
giver was of higher value than the gift itself, the gift of the heart outweighing the gift of 
the purse : 

"And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the 
treasury: and many that were rich, cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and 
she threw in two mites, which made a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith 
unto them, Verily I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast more in than all they which 
have cast into the treasury. For all they did cast in of their abundance : but she of her want, 
did cast in all that she had, even all her living." 

This conception of the artist is quite in keeping with the spirit of the incident, and is 
expressed with delicate grace and sentiment, the figure of the humble, shrinking and self- 
forgetful woman being strikingly opposed to that of the ostentatious and purse-proud public 
giver, who is evidently of those who " cast in much." 

7* 



RAISING OF THE DAUGHTER OF JAIRUS, 



See Luke viii. 




N this touching and lovely picture the Master is standing by the side of the maiden 
just fallen into the sleep of death. In the background appear the three favored 
Disciples, Peter, James and John ; while the bereaved mother has thrown herself, 
in her anguish, at the foot of the couch whereon her daughter lies. Jesus, with hand extended, 
seems to be regarding the face of the beautiful young girl, so soon to be restored to life and 
health by his miraculous touch. 

"And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter and James, 
and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden. And all wept, and bewailed her; but 
he said, Weep not, she is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that 
she was dead. And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, 
arise. And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway; and he commanded to give 
her meat. And her parents were astonished : but he charged them that they should tell no 

man what was done." 

72 



THE GOOD SAMARITAN. 



See Luke x. 




HE lively history of him who fell among thieves has always been of interest to Biblical 
readers, both young and old. The whole account is so graphic, so replete with signifi- 
cation and so happy in its appeal to human sympathy with woe, that, like a tale oft 
told and well beloved, neither its moral nor its memory dies away. "A certain man went down 
from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and 
wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain 
Priest that way, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, 
when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a 
certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was; and when he saw him, he had compas- 
sion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him 
on his own beast, and brought him to an Inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when 
he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of 
him, and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again I will repay thee. Which now of 
these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves ? And he said, 
He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise." 

Tn this beautiful design are finely exemplified the noble generosity and fraternal solicitude 
of the Samaritan, who plods wearily along the lonely, rugged country, guiding the spirited steed 
and keeping poised in the saddle the wounded and nearly exhausted man, to whom he was 
indeed "neighbor." The whole scene is wrought out with exacting care, the tender and pitying 
expression of the one and the suffering helplessness of the other being perfect, while the land- 
scape and sky glow with the fervid beauty of the East. 

73 



ARRIVAL OF THE SAMARITAN AT THE INN. 



See Luke x. 




HE Samaritan has at length arrived at the "Inn." The weary road is passed, the 
sultry noontide and the exhausting journey terminated, and the pitying reception 
of an Eastern's hospitality comes to relieve and soothe both traveller and his charge; 
while in the utter prostration of the wounded man, as his preserver helps him off his beast at 
the inn door, in the receiving landlord and the mistress, perhaps, of the house, looking over 
the balustrade, we have admirable touches, that convey, in the liveliest manner, the pregnant 
meaning of the tale. 

74 



THE PRODIGAL SON. 



See Luke xv. 




HE story of the Prodigal's return is considered a Gospel within a Gospel, and is 
one of the most beautiful and instructive of the parables of Jesus. It contains 
within its graphic narrative not alone the wanderings of the erring soul, not alone 
the first impulses of repentance, the longings for return to truth and duty; but also — those 
longings acted upon — the sweet and tender reception and forgiveness of a father's love. The 
Scribes and Pharisees had rebuked Jesus, saying, "This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with 
them," when he replied by this parable: 

"And he said, a certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, 
Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. 
And not many days after the yonnger man gathered all together, and took his journey into 
a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent 
all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and 
joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into the fields to feed swine. And 
he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave 
unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's 
have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, 
and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more 
worthy to be called thy son ; make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came 
to his father'. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and 
ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned 
against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father 
said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, 
and shoes on his feet; and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it: and let us eat, and be 
merry. For this my son was dead, and is alive again : he was lost, and is found. And they 
began to be merry. Now his elder son was in the field ; and as he came and drew nigh to the 
house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these 
things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come ; and thy father hath killed the 
fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not 
go in ; therefore came his father out, and entreated him. And he answering said to his father, 
Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment ; 
and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends ; but as soon as 
this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him 
the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. 
It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad : for this thy brother was dead, and he 
is alive again; and was lost, and is found." 

The scene presents the father clasping to his heart the returning prodigal, his face raised 
to heaven with an earnest, almost painful look of thanksgiving, as if the grief of the past was 
scarcely as yet obliterated by the joy of the present. The servants, with animated gestures, 
hurrying towards him, with the welcoming dogs, form a charming adjunct to the picture. 

75 




75 



LAZARUS AND THE RICH MAN. 



See Luke xvi. 




HERE was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared 
sumptuously every day: and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was 
laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from 
the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass that 
the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, 
and was buried; and in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, 
and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and 
send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tor- 
mented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst 
thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tor- 
mented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed; so that they 
which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from 
thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's 
house; for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this 
place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear 
them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will 
repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be 
persuaded, though one rose from the dead." 

A scene of oriental banqueting is happily portrayed in this engraving, with which 
the pleading, pitiful figure of Lazarus is in fine contrast. The accessories of the dogs — 
the beggar's only friends— the imperious slave, warning off the mendicant's petition, and the 
crowding servants above, are telling specimens of Dore's ever-fine side-touches. 

76 



THE PHARISEE AND PUBLICAN. 




See Luke xviii. 

UMILITY in contrast with pride or loftiness of heart is a theme strongly dwelt on 
in the Bible. That God is with the lowly in spirit is one of the loftiest as well 
as tenderest of sacred teachings. Here the self-satisfied Pharisee praises himself 
betore God, and, without seeking a blessing, returns to his home, while the self-humiliated 
Publican, confessing his sins, goes "down to his house justified rather than the other." The 
engraving tells the tale admirably — in the kneeling Publican, the haughty Pharisee, and the 
all-discerning Master, with his group of witnessing followers behind. 

71 




11 



JESUS AND THE WOMAN OF SAMARIA. 



See John iv. 




OURNEYING from Judea into Galilee, Jesus passed through Samaria, and being- 
weary, sat down alone at "Jacob's Well," his disciples having gone into the city 
(Sychem) to buy meat. A woman came forth from the city to draw water at 
the well, and " Jesus said unto her, Give me to drink." " Then saith the woman of Samaria 
unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of 
Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said 
unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to 
drink ; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The 
woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep : from 
whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which 
gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle ? Jesus answered 
and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again : But whosoever 
drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst ; but the water that I shall 
give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman 
saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. 
Jesus said unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and 
said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: 
For thou hast had five husbands ; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband : in 
that saidst thou truly. The woman said unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. 
Our fathers worshipped in this mountain ; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where 
men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when 
ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship 
ye know not what : we know what we worship ; for salvation is of the Jews. But the 
hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit 
and in truth : for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit : and they 
that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The woman said unto him, I 
know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ ; when he is come, he will tell us all- 
things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he." 

This incident, so vividly and forcibly rendered by the Evangelist, receives an exquisite 
setting in the picture before us — well suited, in its poetic quality, to the measured grace 
and dignity of the text. It is high noon, and the whole scene -is bathed in meridian splen- 
dor. Stillness has crept over earth and sky, but the air vibrates with its fullness of warmth. 
A weary figure, with calm, unworldly countenance, sits at the well. Leaning upon its curb, 
a woman, who has come forth from the city light-hearted enough even to converse with a 
Jew, lingers, arrested, subdued and sobered by the quickening force of his speech — for here 
is a stranger who not alone has told her all things she ever did, but has opened before her 

bright vistas of joy and holiness and peace. 

73 



JESUS, AND THE WOMAN TAKEN IN ADULTERY. 



See John viii. 




HE language employed by Jesus on this occasion shows not only his ever-present 
sense of justice, but also his deep sympathy for the distressed and ready compas- 
sion for the erring : 

"Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. And early in the morning he came again into 
the Temple, and all the people came unto him ; and he sat down and taught them. And 
the Scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery ; and when they 
had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in 
the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned : but what, 
sayest thou ? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus . 
stooped down, and with his fingers wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. 
So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is 
without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and 
wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, 
went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last : and Jesus was left alone, 
and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none 
but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers ? hath no man 
condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn 
thee: go, and sin no more." 

The artist has caught the force and significance of the lesson here taught by Christ, 
and most subtly inwrought them in his beautiful picture. The sins even of this fallen 
woman may be condoned by sure repentance, and Christ has no fear from contact with 
her, but places his fingers gently on her shoulder as a token both of protection and of for- 
giveness. She, crouching at his feet, stricken and condemned, appears to shrink like a 
polluted creature from his touch ; while her clamorous accusers seem abashed at his search- 
ing knowledge and stern reproof. 

79 




79 



THE RESURRECTION OF LAZARUS. 



See John xi. 




O the little household in Bethany, consisting of Mary, Martha and their brother 
Lazarus, Jesus was most tenderly attached. " It was that Mary which anointed 
the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair." Lazarus fell sick and 
died, and first Martha, then Mary, came to the Master in their distress, saying each in the 
same words, "Lord, if thou hadst been here my brother had not died." "When jesus 
therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in 
the spirit, and was troubled, and said, Where have ye laid him ? They said unto him, Lord, 
come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold, how he loved him. And some of 
them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even 
this man should not have died ? Jesus therefore again groaning in himself, cometh to the 
grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. 
Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh ; 
for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that if thou 
wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God ? Then they took away the stone 
from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I 
thank thee, that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou nearest me always : but 
because of the people which stand by, I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent 
me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And 
he that was dead, came forth, bound hand and foot with grave-clothes : and his face was 
bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him and let him go. Then 
many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed 
on him. But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things 
Jesus had done. 

The awful indication of the power of the Almighty over Life and Death is what the 
artist has here endeavored to unveil. The figure of Christ, the awe-struck beholders, and 
the shrouded form of him who comes from the portals of the tomb once more to mingle 
with his fellow-men are the striking components of the scene. 

80 



. \ 



MARY MAGDALENE. 




|HE gloomy surroundings of the Magdalene, in this picture, are quite in keeping 
with the sad story of her early life, as hinted at in Sacred Writ, as with the 
deeply repentant spirit which the after record of her career sets forth ; but in 
bright and soothing contrast to this sombre scene were the hopes which that heart-felt re- 
pentance entailed. A lovely and prominent figure in the Master's history, full of the noble- 
ness of a contrite, womanly spirit, she stands the beacon -star of hope to the seemingly lost 
and hopeless, and a marked example of that tender care and love which our Saviour over 
showed towards the weak and broken-hearted. 




8i 



THE LAST SUPPER. 



See Matthew xxvi. 




OW the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, 
saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? 
And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master 
saith, My time is at hand ; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples. And 
the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them, and they made ready the passover. Now 
when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. And as they did eat, he said, 
Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And they were exceeding sorrow- 
ful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I ? And he answered and 
said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. The Son of 
man goeth as it is written of him ; but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is 
betrayed ! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. Then Judas, which 
betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said. And 
as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the 
disciples, and said, Take, eat : this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and 
gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, 
which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink 
henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my 
Father's kingdom. And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of 
Olives." 

To those who have associated themselves in spirit with the little group thus gathered 
together, the remembrance of the occasion must always awaken tender and solemn emotions. 
The artist has finely grouped his subject, treating it with quiet dignity and effectiveness. 

82 



THE AGONY IN THE GARDEN. 



See Luke xxii. 




T is with tender awe and commiseration that we behold this ag<Dnizinor scene in 
our Saviour's life. The consummating hour draws nigh. Alone, deserted, the 
Lord of Life struggles with the mysteries of Death. "And there appeared an 
angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him." The burden of our sorrows, the day- 
spring of our hope — all are concentrated in that tremendous hour, and he " who doeth all 
things well " conquers. The picture is a veritable gem. The countenance of Jesus has 
settled into calmness and repose, but there are still traces of that conflict of bitter agony 
and "bloody sweat." All the accessories are artistic and well defined. 

83 




83 



PRAYER OF JESUS IN THE GARDEN OF OLIVES. 



See Luke xxii. 




ESUS is alone — his three disciples sleep. The solemn night air, the silent heavens 
in awe, witness the agonized prayer of his heart-broken spirit. The " Last Sup- 
per" has just been concluded. No more he mingles with his fellow-men in mar- 
ket, in thoroughfare or at board. He prays — the prayer that seals the consummation of 
his work, the redemption of his race — " Not my will, but thine, be done." 

This design is one of the most affecting and beautiful of the Bible series. Every detail 
is wrought out with unusual care and precision. The landscape is rich and full, with mighty 
upspringing trees and gracefully sweeping branches, yielding turf and tufted masses of flow- 
ering plants ; the sky is warm and tender, and an evening softness is in the air. The artist 
has been deeply moved by the incident, and as we gaze upon the rapt and holy countenance 
of Christ, upturned in prayer, with the disciples " sleeping for sorrow," all the sadness and 
solemnity of the scene are revealed to us. 

84 



THE BETRAYAL 




HIS scene of a treachery so tremendous that it has no parallel, is related by all of: 
the four Evangelists. Judas, the arch-traitor, — he who had been with Jesus, had 
witnessed his miracles, his numberless deeds of mercy, and had associated with 
him as one of the chosen twelve — he of all others to betray his Lord, could bring no palliation 
for the deed. Untouched by the beauty and majesty of a spotless life, without mercy, he 
•'persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart." In the- 
stillness of night, ruthless and determined, he stole upon his victim, and betrayed him,. his 
Lord and Master, with a kiss. 

The scene presents most vividly the tumult and confusion which have broken in upon 
this sacred retreat. The pressing, clamorous crowd, with flickering torches, led on by the 
cruel soldiery — all " come out as against a thief with swords and with staves " — form the 
background, against which are relieved the chief figures in this awful drama, Christ and 
Judas. What more striking than the contrast between the serene and sacred beauty of the: 
countenance of Jesus, and the wicked and leering face of his betrayer! 

85 



CHRIST FAINTING UNDER THE CROSS. 



See Mark xv. 

HE artist has given his feeling upon this heart-touching incident most sympathetic 
and tender expression. Christ, crushed to the earth by the cruel weight of the 
cross, is a conception infinitely pitiful, and the sturdy and finely-drawn figure of 
" one Simon a Cyrenian " is energetic and noble to a high degree. The background shows 
the well-grouped Roman soldiers. The design is executed with great vigor. 

86 




THE FLAGELLATION. 




See Mark xv. 

HIS picture represents a mode of punishment so monstrous and cruel that the 
sensitive mind recoils from it with horror — a form imposed at that early day 
upon the most degraded criminals ; but in its full reality it is more dreadful still, 
for it was he " by whose stripes ye were healed," " he who his own self bore our sins in 
his own body on the tree," he " who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the 
cross, despising the shame," who had this draught of bitterness added to his already over- 
flowing cup. The artist has most sympathetically and admirably rendered the central sub- 
ject, who, in figure and utter touchingness of submission and pain, must chain each tongue 
and move each heart to pity. 

87 



THE CRUCIFIXION. 



See Matthew xxvii. 




HE artist, in this picture, strives to exhibit the phenomena of nature which accom-, 
panied the death of our Lord. The appalling blackness of the heavens he has 
illuminated with piercing rays of light, that reveal the ghastly details of the heart- 
rending scene. The mounted soldiery, the various spectators, dim and undefined in the 
cavernous obscurity, the shrouded women, the dying malefactors, the broad brilliancy of the 
lightning flash that brings out the person of the Redeemer into fullest prominence — all are 
details vivid and terribly effective as an artistic rendering of a scene which no human 
genius can ever hope to portray in colors equal to its reality. All the four Evangelists 
describe this thrilling event, though we have only noted the first in order. 



CLOSE OF THE CRUCIFIXION. 



See Matt, xxvii. 




HE terror of the earthquake is upon the Roman Centurion and his guard; the 
fleeing horses, the distracted figures, the wild desire to escape from something too 
horrible for their untutored natures to endure, all prove the supernatural effect 
which this event has produced upon them, bidding them cry out, " Truly, this was the Son of 
God ! " But " it is finished ; " the deed is done ; and the Powers of Darkness, vanquished 
utterly in their seeming triumph, which but makes to shine forth more brightly that " true 
Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." The picture is wonderful — 
grand and sublime, with a loftiness all its own, and a power which the artist has rarely 
surpassed. 

89 



THE BURIAL OF JESUS. 




See John xix. 

OW, in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden; and in the garden 
a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus there- 
fore, because of the Jews' preparation day ; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand." 
At length the tragedy is over, and the silent form of him who only lived for others, and 
who died to win them eternal life, is borne to the tomb — not, indeed, to see corruption, 
but to gloriously rise again to his everlasting kingdom of happiness and peace. His 
mourning friends tenderly bear him from the bitter cross to his sepulchre. Joseph of 
Arimathea, Nicodemus, the weeping women — all are there, as yet unconscious of the resur- 
rection morn, which is soon to gladden their hearts and verify so intensely to them that 
consolatory verse of the Psalmist, "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the 
morning." 



THE ANGEL AT THE SEPULCHRE. 



See Matthew xxviii. 




N the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, 
came Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, to see the sepulchre. And behold, 
there was a great earthquake, for the Angel of the Lord descended from heaven, 
and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was 
like lightning, and his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him, the keepers did shake, 
and became as dead men. And the Angel answered, and said unto the women, Fear not 
ye : for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here : for he is risen, 
as he said: come see the place where the Lord lay." 

The gloom of the sepulchre, in this striking picture, is illuminated by the figure of the 
Angel of the Resurrection, the first glowing ray of consummated light that shoots over our 
hither side from the portals of the tomb since the world began — the dying out of the old, 
the dawning of the new. It falls first on woman, our brightest earthly comforter, and it is 
most appropriately from her eager lips that the. disciples learn the joyful news. A charming 
picture — executed with telling force and power. 

9i 




9i 



THE JOURNEY TO EMMAUS 



See Luke xxiv. 




HIS picture is one of the most touching and suggestive of the series illustrating 
the life and mission of Christ. Two of his disciples were at Jerusalem on the 
first day of the week, succeeding the crucifixion, and were among those who had 
been told by Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and other women of 
Galilee, of the marvellous things they had witnessed at the tomb of Christ— that when 
they came to the sepulchre, the stone was rolled away and it was found empty, but that 
two men appeared in shining garments and said unto them, " He is not here, but is risen." 
The same day these disciples went to Emmaus, a village about seven miles distant from Jeru- 
salem, and as they journeyed their thoughts were only of the wondrous things that had been 
told them, and of these they talked to one another. " And it came to pass that whiie they 
communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their 
eyes were holden that they should not know him. And he said unto them, What man- 
ner of communications are these that ye have one to another as ye walk and are sad ? " 
One of the two, named Cleopas, answered him, recounting all that had been told them at 
Jerusalem, and saying to him besides, " And certain of them which were with us went to 
the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said ; but him they saw not." Then 
he said unto them, " O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have 
spoken. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory ? 
And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them, in all the Scrip- 
tures, the things concerning himself." 

The simple account given by the Evangelist of this meeting vividly impresses the mind 
with the- solemnity of the occasion, and the same impression is conveyed in a quiet and 
beautiful way by the illustration. The figures are full of dignity, and both their attitude 
and expression betray the seriousness and gravity of the thoughts that occupy their minds. 
The countenance of Jesus is touchingly sad, and his companions appear awed and spell- 
bound by his discourse. Around them is a moveless scene. The air is hushed; the earth 
— even the shadowy town in the distance — seems left to them alone; while above them 
stretches the sky, vast, deep, and solemn as the night. 

92 



THE ASCENSION. 



See Luke xxiv 




UR Lord's ministry is finished ; the lowly boyhood, the struggling youth, the painful 
years of unswerving toil and benefaction, the closing scenes of an anguish immea- 
surable to mortal men — all are ended. The agony is past, the perfect work 
accomplished, the victory gained ; and now, leading forth his beloved disciples, " as far as 
to Bethany," for one last and solemn farewell, " he lifted up his hands and blessed them. 

" And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried 
up into heaven. And they worshipped' him, and returned to Jerusalem, with great joy: 
and were continually in the Temple, praising and blessing God. Amen." 

The ascending figure of our Saviour, rising above the group of his joyful yet sorrow- 
ing worshippers, is powerfully expressed — a wondrous upward flight against the profound 
depths of a perfect sky. 

93 




93 



MARTYRDOM OF ST. STEPHEN. 




. See Acts vi, vii. 

ND in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a 
murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were 
neglected in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude of the 
disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and 
serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report,, 
full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we 
will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word." " Stephen, a 
man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost," was one of these elected seven, and evidently a 
very prominent one among them, for it says of him that " Stephen, full of faith and power, 
did great wonders and miracles among the people." " Then there arose certain of the 
synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandri- 
ans, and of them of Cilicia, and of Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they were not able 
to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. Then they suborned men, which said, 
We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God." Brought 
before the High Priest and the Council, Stephen answers in a brief condensation of He- 
brew history, consummating in an accusation of themselves as the "betrayers and murder- 
ers " of Jesus. Cut to the heart, they drag him out of the city and stone him. In the 
representation of this, the first Christian martyrdom, Stephen lies against the wall with 
lifted countenance, bearing the pitiless storm of missiles from his foes, who surround him 
in every attitude of deadly rage and malice. 

94 




94 



SAUL'S CONVERSION. 



See Acts ix. 




ND Saul yet breathing out threatening^ and slaughter against the disciples of the 
Lord, went unto the high Priest, and desired of him letters to Damascus, to the 
Synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, 
he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed he came near Damascus, 
and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven. And he fell to the earth, 
and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ? And he said, who 
art thou Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee 
to kick against the pricks. And he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what wilt thou 
have me to do ? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be 
told thee what thou must do And the men which journeyed with him, stood speechless, 
hearing a voice, but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the earth, and when his eyes were 
opened, he saw no man ; but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. 
And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink." 

The moment chosen for this representation of the conversion of St. Paul is when the 
vivid light from heaven and the mysterious voice strike the fiery persecutor to the earth 
and scatter dismay and terror among his trembling attendants. The lithe and vigorous 
figure of the future Apostle to the Gentiles, his attitude of overwhelming wonder and 
surprise, are alike admirable, while the various postures of his affrighted retinue exemplify 
and heighten the dramatic splendor of the scene. 

95 



DELIVERANCE OF ST. PETER. 




See Acts xii. 

IJETER, the impetuous Disciple, has been imprisoned. Since the first sharp lesson 
taught him of deep repentance and contrition at the denial of his Lord, many a 
buffet and check has been tempering his forward spirit. But Herod the king was 
at this time persecuting the church, and so prominent a personage as Peter could hardly have 
long escaped his notice ; so, to please the Jews, he lays hands on the Apostle, and thrusts 
him into prison. 

"Peter therefore was kept in prison, but prayer was made without ceasing of the Church 
unto God for him. And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter 
was sleeping between two Soldiers, bound with two chains, and the Keepers before the door 
kept the prison. And behold, the Angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in 
the prison : and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. 
And his chains fell off from his hands. And the Angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and 
bind on thy sandals : And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garments about 
thee, and follow me. And he went out, and followed him, and wist not that it was true 
which was done by the Angel : but thought he saw a vision. When they were past the 
first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city, which 
opened to them of his own accord ; and they went out and passed on through one street, 
and forthwith the Angel departed from him." 

In representing this incident the artist has given us a wild night scene, with the angel 
leading the half unconscious Apostle down the rough stone steps, amid the sleeping guard 
— a vivid rendering, in every detail, of what was evidently the semi-unreality of the scene 
even to St. Peter himself. 

96 



PAUL AT EPHESUS. 



See Acts xix. 




|OR the space of two years Paul had been preaching at Ephesus. "And God 
wrought special miracles by the hand of Paul, so that from his body were brought 
unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and 
the evil spirits went out of them." Thus the reputation of the Apostle became thoroughly 
known, and great reformation ensued, so that " the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified, 
and many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. Many of them also 
which used curious arts, brought their books together and burned them before all men : and 
they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily 
grew the word of God, and prevailed." The picture is full of life and motion. The zealous 
people are bringing their books to cast into the flame, Saint Paul exhorting and encouraging 
them from the steps of the temple. 

97 




97 



PAUL MENACED BY THE JEWS. 



See Acts xxi. 




A.UL, on his returning journey to Jerusalem, is notified of his coming troubles in 
that city, but still he is determined to proceed. On his arrival he is again warned 
by the elders of the church, and in his precautions to avoid difficulties, seems only 
to have run into them. The thronging multitude, stirred up by the Jews, who had beheld 
him in the Temple, seize him, and he is in danger of being killed, when he is rescued by 
the Roman soldiery. 

The engraving shows Paul on the castle stairs, "borne of the soldiers for the violence 
of the people," who form a confused mass of struggling figures below — one of those threat- 
ening and fearful mobs of which Jerusalem was often the scene, through national pride, 
religious zeal and hatred towards their oppressors. 

98 • 



PAULS SHIPWRECK. 




See Acts xxvii. 

T. PAUL'S shipwreck, of which he himself has given so vivid an account, has ever 
been considered one of the most striking episodes of his life. The island of 
Malta — supposed to be the ancient Melita — was probably the scene of this disas- 
ter, and St. Paul's Bay is now shown to the curious tourist as the veritable locality. In the 
present engraving the prominent figure of St. Paul dominates over a stormy sea, strewn 
with pieces of the wreck, while the inmates of the ship are struggling in various attitudes 
and ways to the shore. 

99 




99 



DEATH ON THE PALE HORSE. 



See Revelation vi. 




JHE description of this scene in Holy Writ is one of the most vivid and wonderful of 
the utterances of the inspired Exile of Patmos — " And I looked, and behold, a pale 
horse, and his name that sat on him was Death, and hell followed with him." It is 
the opening of the fourth seal. 

In his treatment of this subject M. Dore has shown the fine imaginative quality of his 
thought. The subject is difficult — one easily exaggerated ; but he seems to have kept himself 
under proper restraint, without at all impairing his facility, originality or inventive power. The 
design is grand and mysterious, as befits the theme. The headlong career of the apocalyptic 
steed, with fiery nostrils and wildly flowing mane, the fearful blackness through which it flashes 
its resistless way, the terrible figure of death with its attendant train of fiends — all fill the 
beholder with a nameless dread. 

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